THE  UNIVERSITY 

ILLINOIS 
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OFFICIAL  EDITION 


ART    AND    HANDICRAFT 


WORLDS    COLUMBIAN    EXPOSITION 

CHICAGO,  1893 


EDITED   HY 

MAUD    HOWE    ELLIOTT 

\VITH    SPECIAL   ARTICLES    HY 

MRS.     POTTER     PALMER,    MRS.    JULIA    WARD     HOWE,    MISS     S.    T.     HALLOWELL,     MRS.    CANDACE 

WHEELER,  MISS   ALICE   C.   MORSE,  MRS.   ELIZABETH  W.   PERRY,  MRS.   LOUISA  HOPKINS, 

MRS.     HENRY     RICHARDS,     MRS.     FREDERICK     P.     BELLAMY,     MRS.     EDNA     D. 

CHENEY,     MRS.     JAMES    P.     EAGLE,     MRS.     FRANCES    K.     CLARKE, 

MRS.   GEORGE  B.   DUNLAP,  MRS.   MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT 

AND 

THE    DUCHESS   OF    VERAGUA,  THE   PRINCESS    M.   SCHAHOVSKOY,  THE   COUNTESS   OF  ABERDEEN, 

THE  BARONESS  BURDETT-COUTTS,  THE  BARONESS  THORBURG  RAPPE,  MME.   PEGARD, 

FRAU   PROFESSORIN    KASELOWSKY,  MME.  QUELLENAC,  MME.  OXHOLM,  MRS. 

BEDFORD-FENWICK,    MRS.    E.    CRAWFORD,    MME.    EVA   MARRIOTTI 


CHICAGO    AND    NEW    YORK  : 

RAND,  McNALLY  &  COMPANY. 
1894. 


Copyright.    1893.   by    Bonlud,   V.MOII  4  Co. 

COPYRIGHT,  1894,  BY  RAND,  MCNALLY  &  Co. 


PUBLISHERS'    PREFACE. 

The  World's  Columbian  Exposition  has  afforded  woman  an  unpre- 
cedented opportunity  to  present  to  the  world  a  justification  of  her 
claim  to  be  placed  on  complete  equality  with  man. 

The  broad  fact  that  able  and  earnest  women  from  all  quarters  of 
the  globe  organized  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  evidence  and  demand- 
ing a  hearing  by  the  court  of  assembled  nations  is  generally  known. 
The  following  pages — written  by  women  eminent  as  pleaders  in  the 
cause — tell  eloquently  of  the  detail  of  their  procedure  and  of  the 
results  so  far  attained. 

That  their  labors  will  immediately  eventuate  in  the  full  realization 
of  their  hopes  can  not  with  reason  be  expected,  but  that  their  efforts 
have  revealed  the  possession  of  unsuspected  powers,  and  will  disperse 
the  mists  of  ignorant  prejudice  that  at  present  cloud  the  question,  can 
not  be  doubted. 

The  publishers  hail  with  pleasure  the  opportunity  that  the  issuance 
of  this  volume  affords  them  of  adding  to  the  light,  and  perhaps  of 
hastening  the  coming  of  the  day  when  woman  will  be  emancipated 
from  restraints  imposed  upon  her  by  a  worn-out  conventionalism 
absurdly  unsuited  to  our  times  and  conditions. 

The  illustrations  in  the  original  edition  of  this  work  were  prepared 
and  made  by  Boussod,  Valadon  &  Co.  (successors  to  Goupil  &  Co.),  in 
Paris  ;  and  the  illustrations  made  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.  appear  in 
the  present  edition  on  pages  26,  32,  41,  42,  69,  70,  77,  78,  95,  96,  108,  no, 
123,  124,  131,  132,  144,  146,  159,  160,  186,  188,  197,  198,  223,  224,  254,  256, 
280,  282,  296,  and  298. 


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GALLERY   PLAN   WOMAN'S   BUILDING. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING,  BERTHA  HONORE  PALMER          .         .  17 

THE  BUILDING  AND  ITS  DECORATIONS,  MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT.  33 

WOMAN  IN  ART,  S.  T.  HALLOWELL,     ....                                    .         .  67 

APPLIED  ARTS  IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING,  CANDACK  WHEELER.      .  79 

WOMEN  ILLUSTRATORS,  ALICE  C.  MORSE.      .                  ......  89 

THE  WORK  OF  CINCINNATI  WOMEN  IN  DECORATED  POTTERY,  ELIZABETH  W. 

PERRY,      .__..._.._....  101 

WOMAN  IN  SCIENCE,  LOUISA  PARSONS  HOPKINS,  .......  107 

WOMAN  IN  LITERATURE,  LAURA  E.  RICHARDS,         ...  119 

THE  LIBRARY,  MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT,         ......                  .  133 

NEW  YORK  LITERARY  EXHIBIT,  BLANCHE  WILDER  BELLAMY,           .         _         .  139 

EVOLUTION  OF  WOMEN'S  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  EDNA  D.  CHENEY,  147 

Music  IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING,  LENA  BURTON  CLARKE,     .  165 

CONGRESSES  IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING,  MARY  Q.  O.  EAGLE,      .         .         .         .  171 

ASSOCIATIONS  OF  WOMEN,  JULIA  WARD  HOWE,  175 

THE  CHILDREN'S  BUILDING,  EMMA  B.  DUNLAP,     .......  189 

FRANCE,  MADAME  PEGARD,       ........  203 

COTTAGE  INDUSTRIES  IN  SCOTLAND  AND  IRELAND,  ISHBEI.  ABERDEEN,  .         .219 

PHILANTHROPIC  WORK  OF  BRITISH  WOMEN,  THE  BARONESS  BURDETT-COUTTS,  .  229 

GREAT  BRITAIN — ART,  E.  CRAWFORD,           ....--..  235 

BRITISH  NURSES'  EXHIBIT,  MRS.  BEDFORD-FENWICK,         .....  243 

GERMANY.  MADAME  KASELOWSKY,        ...                                             .  247 

SPAIN,  THE  DUCHESS  OF  VERAGUA.           ........  257 

ITALY,  EVA  MARIOTTI.         ......                                             .  265 

WOMAN'S  POSITION  IN  THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  STATES,  MATILDE  G.  DE  MIRO 

QUESADA,  271 

RUSSIA,  PRINCESS  M.  SCHAHOVSKOY ...  283 

SWEDEN,  THORBORG  RAPPE.  ----------  299 

DENMARK,  MADAME  D'OXHOLM, -  305 

GREECE,  MADAME  QUELLENEC,  309 

BELGIUM.  MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT,  ...  313 

EPILOGUE,  MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT,  .  .....--  317 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

NOTE.— The  illustrations  in  the  following  list  are  of  objects  displayed  in  the  Woman's  Building. 
The  particular  section  in  which  an  exhibit  is  to  be  found  is  indicated  by  the  name  of  the  country 
following  the  title  of  each  illustration. 

PAGE. 

Altar  Piece — Romanesque  Style.     A.  Branting            _  •       _         .         .         .         .  299 

Ancient  Russian  Headgear.     Mme.  Schabelskoi     ......  286 

Ancient  Russian  Headgear.     Mme.  Schabelskoi          ......  294 

Antique  Raised  Venetian  Point  Lace.     Countess  Telfener     ....  264 

Antwerp  Peasant.     M.  O.  Kobbd        .........  98 

Arabian  Embroidery.     Mme.  Luce  Ben-Aben         .         .         .         .         .         .  178 

Aunt  Tabitha.     M.  O.  Kobb6      __•__.._.__  98 

Baptismal  Veil  of  Queen  Caroline  of  Naples.     Marchioness  Mazzacorati         .  267 

Bas  Relief — "Ophelia."     Sarah  Bernhardt          .......  273 

Black  and  White  Drawing — "Anon  Comes  April  in  Her  Jollity."  Rosina 

Emmet  Sherwood     ...........  48 

Black  and  White  Illustration — "  In  the  Meeting  House."     A.  B.  Stephens          .  134 

Bolero  Vest,  in  White  Satin,  Embroidered  in  Gold.     Mme.  Pailleron     .         .  196 

Book  Cover.     Alice  C.  Morse      ........         .         .  97 

Book  Cover.     Boston  collection       .........  97 

Book  Cover.     Boston  collection            .......  94 

Book  Cover.     Boston  collection       .........  142 

Book  Cover.  Pulpit  Hanging  and  Prayer-Book  Cover  of  Charles  I.  Her  Majesty 

the  Queen  of  England            ......_.__  236 

Book  Cover.  Sarah  W.  Whitman  .  93 

Book  Cover.  Sarah  W.  Whitman  .........  98 

Book  Cover,  XVI  Century.  M.  A.  Sheldon 94 

Bronze  Group — "  Brother  and  Sister."     Fraulein  Finzelberg      ....  169 

Bronze  Plate.     Marcello  Lancelot-Croce          .         .         .         .         .         .         .  114 

Brussels  Dress  Applique  on  Real  Net.     Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians  314 

Cartoon  for  Stained  Glass.     Mary  E.  McDowell          ......  50 

Cartoon  for  Memorial  Window.     Helen  Maitland  Armstrong  54 

Carved  Buffet.     Countess  Tankerville         .                                                                .  174 

Carved  Fan.     Countess  Tankerville        ...                            .         .  180 

Carved  Oak  Mirror  Frame.     Miss  Reeks     .....                  .  140 

Carved  Wood  Frame.     Mile.  Hawkins  .         .  308 

Carved  Wood  and  Leather  Chair.     H.  R.  H.  the  Princess  of  Wales            .         .  125 

Carved  Wood  and  Leather  Stool.     Princess  Maud  of  Wales  .         .         .         .  128 

Carved  Wood  and  Leather  Stool.     Princess  Victoria  of  Wales             ...  126 
Carved  Wood  Panel        .......                                    .141 

Carved  Wood  Panel.     Albertina  Nordstrom        .         .         .         .         .         .         -  171 

Carved  Wood  Panel  from  Record  Room.     K.  E.  P.  Mosher             ...  233 
Ceiling  of  Library.     Dora  Wheeler  Keith            .         .         .         .         .         .         .136 

Cloak  of  the  Virgin.     St.  Nicholas  Church,  Belgium       .....  316 

Collection  of  Lace  Needles  and  Bobbins.     Committee  of  Italian  Ladies     .         .  266 

Condition  of  Women  in  France       .                   .....  208 

Corporal  Veil,  Flat  Needlepoint  Lace.  Presentation  Convent  Industry  -  219 

(8) 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  9 

PAGE. 

Costume  of  a  "  Hedebipoge  " — Peasant  Woman  of  Zeeland  ....  304 

Costume  of  a  Young  Girl  of  the  Isle  of  Amager  .  .  .  _  .  .  150 

Cradle,  with  Applique  of  Mirecourt  Lace 195 

Curio  Table  and  Chest  in  Stained  Marquetry.     Working  Ladies'  Guild  244. 

Curtain  of  the  Throne  of  the  Czars  Jean  and  Peter.     Mme.  Schabelskoi    _         .  289 

Cushion.     H.  R.  H.  the  Princess  Louise         ......  240 

Cushion  and  Workcase.     Mme.  Holmblad           .......  305 

Decoration  of  North  Tympanum,  "  Primitive  Woman."  Mary  Fairchild  Mac- 

Monnies  .--...___.  ...  34 

Decoration  of  South  Tympanum,  "  Modern  Woman."  Mary  Cassatt  .  _  35 

Decorative  Panel,  "  Arcadia."  Amanda  Brewster  Sewell  ....  37 

Decorative  Panel,  "  Art,  Science,  and  Literature."  Lydia  Emmet  .  .  43 
Decorative  Panel,  "  The  Republic's  Welcome  to  Her  Daughters."  Rosina  Emmet 

Sherwood      .............  39 

Decorative  Panel,  "  The  Women  of  Plymouth."     Lucia  Fairchild  36 
Design  for  Banner.     Miss  Digby         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         _         .164 

Design  for  Book  Cover.     Mary  Hathaway  Nye       .....  91 

Design  for  Carpet.     Lucy  W.  Valentine      .         _         .         1         .         .         _         _  84 

Design  for  Hand  Miiror.     Mrs.  E.  W.  Blashfield  ......  163 

Design  for  Wall  Paper.     Anna  Lee     ...____._         .85 

Designs  for  Book  Covers.     Alice  C.  Morse      .......  90 

Designs  for  Lace.     Nina  French         .         .         .         .         .         .         _         .         .137 

Diagram  of  the  Woman's  Building          .........  6 

Diana — Statue.     Miss  Grant       ..........  234 

Dragon  Plate.     Parsons  &  Brown  87 

Embossed  Coppers.     Rosalie  Juel       .         .                                                                   .  279 

Embroidered  Brocade.     Lady  Henry  Grosvenor     ......  206 

Embroidered  Landscape — "  Apple  Blossom  Time. "  A.J.Peters  ...  82 
Embroidered  Linen  Toilet  Table  Drapery  XVII  Century  Design.  Mme.  Nar- 

ischkine's  School            ...........  168 

Embroidered  Panels.     Leroudier    ......  199 

Embroidered  Portiere.     J.  M.  Dixon  .......                   .  228 

Embroidered  Screen.     Gabrielle  Delessert     ...._.  170 

Embroidered  Silk  Cushion.     Agnes  Branting     ........  310 

Embroidered  Vellum  Frame.     Boston  Society  of  Decorative  Art  .         .         .  245 

Embroidered  White  Satin  Cushion.     H.  R.  H.  Princess  Louise  of  Denmark      .  206 

Embroidery.     Charlotte  Georgeville        .........  270 

Embroidery  on  White  Satin         .         .         .         .         _         .         .         .         .         .250 

Embroidery.     Pupils  of  the  House  of  the  Legion  of  Honor             ...  59 

Enameled  Cup — "  The  Four  Seasons. "     Marie  Louvet        .  149 

Enameled  Glass.     Ella  Casella        .         .         _         .         .         .         .         .         .  116 

End  of  the  Hop  Harvest.     Miss  Stuart  Wood             ......  242 

Entrance  to  Russian  Section,  Princess  Schahovskoy,  Mme.  Doubassoff, 

Mile.  Polienoff,  Mile.  Olsonfieff,  the  Princess  Wolkowski,  and  others       .  290 

Etching — Portrait  of  Mrs.  Piper  at  Spinning  Wheel.     E.  Piper           ...  92 

Exhibits  of  La  Maison  Henry          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -  212 

Fac-Simile  of  Bible  belonging  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  Royal  Society  of  Art 

Needlework            ...........  118 

Faience.  Hortense  Richard  200 

Fan — "Aurora."  Maison  Ahrweiler  66 

Fans.  E.  Buissot  86 


10  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

Finger  Plates.     Violet  M.  Parker _  230 

Fire  Screen.     Marianne  Furst  and  Hermine  Walte      .-____  3^7 

Flat  Needlepoint  Lace  Fan  Cover.     Presentation  Convent     .         .         _         .  221 

Flat  Needlepoint  Lace  Fan  Cover.     Presentation  Convent          ....  225 

Flounce  of  the  Queen  of  Westphalia.     Countess  di  Papadopoli       ...  -&1 

Flounce,  Venetian  Point,  XVII  Century.     Countess  di  Brazza    ....  264 

French  Alen^on  Point  Lace  Fan.     Lefebure            -...__  2I° 

French  Colbert  Point  Lace  Flounce.     Lefebure                                        .         .  J6y 

Gold  Embroidery  XVI  Century.    Countess  di  Brazza     .  260 

Hangings  Embroidered  in  the  School  of  Mme.  Luce  Ben-Aben                              .  J53 

Illustrated  Page  from  Nursery  Receipts.     Mary  Hathaway  Nye    ...  91 

Jabot  of  Jerome  Bonaparte.     King  of  Westphalia       ......  -b~ 

Landscape — "  Banks  of  the  Oka."     Mile.  Olsonfieff         .  J38 

Landscape.     Princess  Imretinski         ...                   .  2§8 

Large  Goblet  of  Etched  Glass.     Hilda  Petterson   _  303 

Limoges  Underglaze  Jar.     E.  A.  Richardson      .         .         .         .         .         .         _  3J9 

Linen  Chattaduk  Wall  Hanging.     Mme.  Cilluf  Alsson             ....  301 

Little  Knitter.     M.  O.  Kobbe      _                                               .....  9§ 

Louis  XV.  Table.     Mme.  G.  Nieter         .  121 

Macrame  Towels         ._..          ........  2^9 

Marble  Bust  of  Princess  Obolensky.     Princess  Schahovskoy 

Marble  Statue — "Spring."     Mme.  L,  Contan     _ 

Marquetry  Screen.     AVorking  Ladies'  Guild  23& 

Miniature.     Camille  Isbert           _         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         _  ]~7 

Miniature — "  Toilet  of  Venus."     Mme.  Herve         _-.... 

Moorish  Woman  Preparing  Couscousson     ...  1^ 

Moses'  Cradle.     Mile.  Susse   .  J9i 

Needlework  Panel.     Miss  Eliot  Walker       _  93 

Novi  Vase.     E.  Richard          .         .         .         .         _         _•_         .         .  ~l& 

011  Painting — "Autumn  Evening."     E.  Beernart        ......  312 

Oil  Painting — "A  Vision."     Frau  Bieber  Bohm 

Oil  Painting — "  Christ  and  the  Sinner."     Countess  Kalkreuth                        .         .  24^ 
Oil  Painting — "  Death  of  Mignon."     Adrienne  Potting 

Oil  Painting — "  Elaine."     Frau  von  Pruschen     .  4& 
Oil  Painting — Flowers.     Fraulein  Ley            ------- 

Oil  Painting — Flowers.     Her  Majesty  Queen  Louise  of  Denmark  3°6 
Oil  Painting— Fruit.     Molly  Cramer                                                   .         .         .         .252 

Oil  Painting — Landscape.     Frau  Schroeder         _______  '43 

Oil  Painting — Landscape.     Fraulein  Von  Kendell  24 

Oil  Painting — "Mars  and  Venus."     Poppe  Llideritz                                ...  74 

Oil  Painting — "  Molly's  Ball  Dress."     Kate  Perugini       _                   ...  '57 

Oil  Painting — "  Morning  Prayer."     C.E.Fischer       ......  73 

Oil  Painting— "  On  the  Cliff."     Louise  Abbema      .                   ....  2I7 

Oil  Painting— "  The  Bath."     Mme.  Demont-Breton             .....  '92 

Oil  Painting — "Thoughts."     Fraulein  Lubbes        ......  !72 

Oil  Baptismal  Gown.     Baroness  Reedtz  Thott 19° 

Old  English  Clock  in  Carved  Wood  Case.     Mrs.  Eliot    .....  109 

Old  Silk  Petticoat.     Mme.  Vallo           .........  3O7 

Painted  Glass  Window.     Cecilia  Boklund       .-.--.-  297 

Painted  Porcelain  Vase,  Old  Swedish  Style.     Helene  Hold  JQ2 

Painted  Screen  57 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  il 

I'AGE. 

Painted  Screen — Imitation  Gobelin.     Anna  Boberg        .  300 

Painting — "A  Sellrein  Woman."     Baroness  Marianne  Eschenburg    .         .         _  133 

Painting — "  France  on  the  Way  to  the  Chicago  Exposition."     Louise  Abbema  202 

Painting.     Louise  Abbema 207 

Painting — "  The  Old  Man's  Soup.''     Mme.  Arthur  Arnould  -         .         .  276 

Panel — "  Influence  of  Woman  in  the  Arts  '           ......  145 

Panel — ' '  The  Arts  of  Woman  "  N  5 

Paris  Vase.     Mme.  E.  Apoil       _  272 

Part  of  Lace  Dress.     Ex-Empress  Frederick  253 

Part  of  Lace  Dress.     Ex-Empress  Frederick       _                  .                                    .  315 

Pen  and  Ink  Drawing — "  Kittens  at  School."     A.  R.  Wheelun        _  99 

Pen  and  Ink  Sketch — Landscape.     Princess  Imretinski       .....  284 

Pillow  Sham.     Mme.  Crouvezier     .         _         .         .  *  204 

Point  Coupe.     H.  R.  H.  Princess  Royal  Louise  of  Denmark         .                   .         .  274 

Portfolio  Containing  Portraits  of  Distinguished  Swedish  Women    .         .         .  122 

Portrait  of  a  Child.     Alice  Grant          .         .                                                                   .  187 

Portrait  of  Archduchess  Marie  Therese  .  16 

Portrait  of  Miss  K.  L.  Minor        ....                                      ...  15 

Portrait  of  Mme.  Carnot          .  16 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Beriah  Wilkins                                                                               .         .  15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Charles  Price          .........  15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Edwin  C.  Burleigh    _         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Flora  Beall  Ginty                     ...                             .  15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Gen.  Vischnegradsky                                      .         ....  16 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  John  A.  Logan      .  14 

Portrait  of  Mi's.  Margaret  Blaine  Salisbury                                                          .         .  15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer         .._..._..  14 
Portrait  of  Mrs.  Ralph  Trautmann      .                                                                  ..15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Russell  B.  Harrison        ........  14 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Schepeler-Lette  .         .         .         .16 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Skowzes         _^.      .........  16 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Susan  G.  Cooke  .         .         .14 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Susan  R.  Ashley  ...---.  15 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  V.  C.  Meredith           .                                                                         -  14 

Portraits  of  Foreign  Lady  Commissioners       _  16 

Portrait  of  Prince  Bariatinsky.     Princess  Bariatinsky         .                                      -  1 79 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Officials  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers     .         .         .  14 
Portraits  of  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers      .         .                   -15 

Portrait  Sketch.     Allegra  Egglestone     .....  72 

Portrait.     Vilma  Parlarghy        .........  248 

Pottery  and  Glass.     Cincinnati  Collection       .                                      .  105 
Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection             .                                                                         .100 

Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection                   ...  103 

Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection    ...  104 

Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection  1 1 1 

Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection  112 

Pottery — Cincinnati  Collection         ....  100 

Priest's  Vestment.     Angela  Baffico     .........  262 

Red  Satin  Embroidered  Cover,  Venice,  XV  Century.     Countess  di  Brazza     _  267 
Reproduction  of  Louis  XV.  Window.     Mile.  Berthe  Floury,  Mile.  Eugenie  Frit- 
man,  Mme.  Dubor         -----------  83 


12  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

Screen.     Countess  Greffuhle  ....  -         -         -         -         216 

Screen — Design  in  National  Style.     K.  Petre      .         .         .         .         .         .         -     151 

Screen.     H.  I.  H.  the  Archduchess  Marie  Therese  3jg 

Seal  of  New  York  State  Board.     Lydia  Emmet  .         -     139 

Seat  of  Stool  in  Leather  Work.     Princess  Maud  of  Wales       .         .         .         .          129 

Seat  of  Stool  in  Leather  Work.  Princess  Victoria  of  Wales  .  .  .  -127 
Silk  and  Gold  Embroidered  Panel.  Working  Woman's  Society  of  Vienna  .  183 
Silk  and  Gold  Embroidered  Vestment,  made  for  His  Eminence  Cardinal 

Gibbons.     Convent  of  Poor  Clare's  Industry         ......     226 

Silk  Embroidered  Vestment,  made  for  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Ireland. 

Royal  School  of  Art  Embroidery  220 

Sketch  for  Glass  Window.     Mrs.  Parrish  .       53 

Sketch  for  Window.     A.  F.  Northrop     ......  148 

Sketch  for  Window.     L.  F.  Emmet    .  .....  64 

Sketch  for  Window.     Mary  Tillinghast  56 

Sketch  for  Window.     Mrs.  J.  B.  Weston     .  60 

Spanish  Lace  with  the  Arms  of  Charles  V.     Lady  Layard    .         .         .         .          258 

Spread  and  Pillow  Cover.     M.  Crouvezier  _         .         .         .         .         .         -155 

Stephanus  Vase.     Mme.  Apoil        .........          214 

Suggestion  for  Reredos.     Mrs.  Kenyon  Cox        .         .         .         .'        .         .  71 

Tapestry.     Barbara  Wolf        ..........  44 

Tapestry.     Bengka  Olsson  ..........     302 

Tapestry  from  Raphael's  Cartoon,  "The  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes." 

Annie  Lyman       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         ,176 

Terra  Cotta  Bust.     Princess  Schahovskoy      ...--.-          292 
Terra  Cotta  Statuette— "  Boy  and  Dog. "     R.  A.  Fraser  Tytler  232 

"  The  Letter  of  Resignation. "     Mary  Hallock  Foote      ...  89 

Wall  Hanging  Representing  the  Goddess  Bonomie.     Burne-Jones     .         _         .120 
Wall  Panel.     Royal  School  of  Art  Embroidery       ....  So 

Water  Color — Decorative  Panel.     Madelaine  Lemaire         .         ....       88 

Water  Color — Illustrated  Page  of  the  Bible.  H.  R.  H.  Princess  Louise  of 

Denmark          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .          115 

Water  Color — Jessup  Collection.     Minnie  R.  Sargent  .         .         .     107 

Water  Color — Jessup  Collection.     Minnie  R.  Sargent  113 

Water  Color.     Madelaine  Lemaire     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .18 

Water  Color — Portrait.     Rosina  Emmet  Sherwood         ....  52 

Water  Color — Portrait  of  the  Empress  of  Russia.     Mme  Kraneskoi  _         .281 

Water  Color — Portrait.     Rosina  Emmet  Sherwood          .....  62 

Water  Color.     Rosina  Emmet  Sherwood  .         .         .         .         .         _         .194 

Watteau  Screen,  Louis  XV.  Design.     Countess  Tankerville  ...          162 

Woman's  Building.     Designed  by  Sophia  G.  Hayden        .         .         .  .     Frontispiece 

"Wood  Dove."  Mary  Hallock  Foote  ...  63 

Young  Girl  Bathing.  Leon  Bortanae  61 


ADDITIONAL    ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    THIS    EDITION. 


Administration  Building  -  26 

Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building  32 

Columbian  Fountain  41 

View  of  the  Great  Basin  42 

Statue  of  Columbus  -        -  69 

Agricultural  Building    -  70 

Electricity  Building,  Western  Fa9ade  77 

Marine  Cafe  and  Brazilian  Building-  78 

Mines  and  Mining  Building  95 

The  Peristyle,  Statue  of  the  Bull,  and  Statue  of  the  Republic  96 

United   States  Government  and  Manufactures  Buildings  108 

Interior  of  the  Agricultural  Building                                       -  1 10 

The  Cart-horse  Group  of  Statuary  123 

The  South  Pond   -  124 

The  Lagoon        -  131 

Electricity  Building       -        -  132 

Horticultural  Building      -  144 

Horticultural  Building,  Central  Portion  146 
Electricity  Building,  Eastern  Fagade                                                                               -     159 

Fisheries  Building  160 
Convent  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Rabida,  Krupp  Gun,  Dairy,  and  Forestry  Buildings    186 

Convent  of  La  Rabida  -         -  188 

Statue  of  Innocence  -        -        -  197 

Looking  North  from  the  Mines  and  Mining  Building  198 

The  Genius  of  Navigation         -        -  223 

View  at  the  North  End  of  the  Lagoon  224 

The  Genius  of  Discovery  254 

Spring  —  Statue     -  256 

Ruins  of  Yucatan       -  280 

View  of  the  Main  Basin  282 

Bureau  of  Public  Comfort  296 

Bird's-eye  View  from  the  Ferris  Wheel  298 


18 


MRS.  SUSAN  G.  COOKE, 
Secretary  Board  of  Lady  Managers. 


MRS.  V.  C.  MEREDITH, 
Vice-Chairman  Executive  Committee, 
and  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Awards. 


MRS.  POTTER  PALMEK, 
President  Board  of  Lady  Managers. 


MRS.  RUSSELL  B.  HARRISON, 
Vice-President  at  Large. 


MRS.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN, 

Vice-Chairman  Committee  on  Ceremonies. 


PROMINENT    OFFICIALS    OF    THF    ROARF)    OF    T.ATW    MANAGERS. 


MRS.  RALPH  TRAUTMANN, 
First  Vice-President. 


MRS.  EDWIN  C.  BURLEIGH, 
Second  Vice-President. 


MRS.  CHARLES  PRICE, 
Third  Vice-President. 


Miss  K.  L.  MINOR, 
Fourth  Vice-President. 


MRS.  BERIAII  WILKINS, 
Fifth  Vice-President. 


MRS.  SUSAN  R.  ASHLEY, 

Sixth  Vice-President. 

(Resigned.) 


MRS.  FLORA  BEALL  GINTY 
Seventh  Vice-President. 


MRS.  MARGARET  BLAINE 

SALISBURY, 
Eighth  Vice-President. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS   OF    THE   BOARD   OF    LADY   MANAGERS. 


HER  IMPERIAL  HIGHNESS 

MARIE  THERESE, 
President  Imperial  Ladies'  Com- 
mission, Austria. 


MRS.  SKOUZIS, 

President  of  the  Syllogue,  Athens, 
Greece. 


MRS.   SCHEPLER-LETTE, 

Germany. 


MRS.  GEN.  VISCHNEGRADSKY, 
President  Imperial  Ladies'  Com- 
mission, Russia. 


MME.  CARNOT, 

President  Ladies'  Committee. 

France. 


FOREIGN    LADY    COMMISSIONERS. 


ART  AND  HANDICRAFT  IN  THE 
WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 

THE  authorization  of  a  Board  of  Lady  Managers  by  Congress 
came  by  the  natural  process  of  evolution,  and  was  the  direct 
result  of  the  good  work  done  by  women  at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition  in  Philadelphia  and  the  succeeding  Cotton  Centennial 
at  New  Orleans. 

In  Philadelphia  the  Woman's  Commission,  led  by  Mrs.  Gillespie, 
worked  long  and  earnestly,  not  only  to  bring  together  the  exhibits 
shown  in  the  Woman's  Department,  but  to  raise  the  funds  necessary 
to  build  the  woman's  pavilion  and  to  provide  the  opening  chorus, 
which  was  composed  for  the  occasion  by  Wagner,  and  sung  by  a 
thousand  children's  voices.  The  creation  of  the  Department  of 
Public  Comfort,  which  grew  to  be  of  immense  value  and  impor- 
tance, was  the  suggestion  of  the  women,  though  the  men  adopted 
and  enlarged  upon  it.  The  work  done  was  heroic,  and  the  leaders 
deserved  to  be  immortalized  for  the  tremendous  results  brought 
about  with  so  little  outside  aid. 

In  New  Orleans,  at  the  Cotton  Centennial,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe,  aided  by  one  woman  commissioner  from  each  State  and 
Territory,  did  a  grand  work.  When  the  women's  exhibit  was 
brought  together  in  New  Orleans,  it  was  found  that  the  Exposition 
Company  had  not  funds  enough  to  enable  the  managers  to  fit  up 
their  department  and  show  their  goods.  Mrs.  Howe  then  made  a 
direct  appeal  to  Congress,  through  some  of  her  friends  who  were 
members  of  that  body,  and  the  sum  of  $15,000  was  voted  to  the 
Woman's  Department  in  order  to  help  them  out  of  their  uncom- 
fortable situation.  The  valuable  work  done  by  these  two  organi- 
zations of  women  had  prepared  the  public  mind  so  thoroughly  for 
the  cooperation  of  women  in  exposition  work  that  when  the  matter 

2  (17) 


WATER-COLOR.    MADELAINE  LEMAIRE.    FRANCE. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  19 

was  brought  before  the  World's  Fair  Committee  of  Congress,  Mr. 
Springer  of  Illinois  willingly  inserted  the  clause  authorizing  the 
creation  of  the  board  of  women,  and  championed  it  in  the  com- 
mittee and  before  the  House,  where  it  met  with  no  serious 
opposition. 

The  Board  of  Lady  Managers  was  created  by  an  Act  of  Congress, 
Section  6  of  which  reads  as  follows:  "  And  said  Commission  is 
authorized  and  required  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Lady  Managers  of 
such  number  and  to  perform  such  duties  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
said  Commission.  Said  board  may  appoint  one  or  more  members 
of  all  committees  authorized  to  award  prizes  for  exhibits  which 
may  be  produced  in  whole  or  in  part  by  female  labor." 

Upon  the  assembling  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  in  Chicago, 
we  found  that  the  first  important  duty  to  be  settled  was  whether 
the  work  of  women  at  the  Fair  should  be  shown  separately  or  in 
conjunction  with  the  work  of  men  under  the  general  classifications. 
This  was  a  burning  question,  for  upon  this  subject  every  one  had 
strong  opinions,  and  there  was  great  feeling  on  both  sides,  those 
who  favored  a  separate  exhibit  believing  that  the  extent  and 
variety  of  the  valuable  work  done  by  women  would  not  be  appre- 
ciated or  comprehended  unless  shown  in  a  building  separate  from 
the  work  of  men.  On  the  other  hand,  the  most  advanced  and 
radical  thinkers  felt  that  the  exhibit  should  not  be  one  of  sex,  but 
of  merit,  and  that  women  had  reached  the  point  where  they  could 
afford  to  compete  side  by  side  with  men,  with  a  fair  chance  of 
success,  and  that  they  would  not  value  prizes  given  upon  the 
sentimental  basis  of  sex. 

Both  in  Philadelphia  and  New  Orleans  the  plan  of  separate 
exhibits  had  been  carried  out  as  well  as  possible ;  but  in  both  cases 
the  friends  of  women  were  disappointed  by  the  meager  showing 
made  when  the  work  done  by  women  alone  was  separated,  and  they 
were  not  credited  with  the  immense  amount,  both  in  variety  and 
volume,  which  women  had  done  in  conjunction  witli  men, 

From  the  farm  the  dairy  products  went  into  the  general  exhibit, 
presumably  as  men's  work.  The  interesting  and  unusually  attract- 
ive showing  of  the  bee  and  silk-worm  industries,  although  prepared 
largely  by  women,  went  also  into  the  general  classification;  and  so 
with  the  thousand  and  one  articles  made  in  the  factories  of  the 
world  by  men  and  women  working  conjointly;  for  women's  dis- 
tinctive part  could  not  be  separated  without  destroying  the  finished 
article. 

In  our  body  the  vote  on  this  question  did  not  come  up  directly, 


00 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  21 

"but  indirectly,  when  it  was  decided,  and  I  think  wisely,  that  there 
should  be  no  separate  exhibit,  but  that  each  manufacturer  should 
be  expected  to  state  whether  his  exhibit  was  in  whole  or  part  the 
work  of  women;  and  that  we  should  have  some  device  indicating 
this  fact  placed  thereon,  so  that  all  who  go  through  the  Exposition 
and  are  at  all  interested  in  this  matter  can  easily  see  a  statement 
of  the  facts. 

Our  request  to  the  Committee  of  Installation  to  put  the  neces- 
sary questions  in  the  entry  blanks,  then  being  prepared  to  send  to 
proposed  exhibitors,  was  immediately  granted,  and  almost  all 
of  the  manufacturers  who  sent  in  their  applications  for  space 
answered  our  questions,  the  first  being:  "  Was  this  article  produced 
wholly  or  in  part  by  the  work  of  women?"  The  affirmative 
answer  to  this  question  entitles  us  to  members  on  the  juries  of 
award — a  most  important  privilege  for  the  protection  of  women's 
interests,  which  was  conferred  upon  us  by  Congress.  A  good  illus- 
tration was  given  of  the  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  universality  of 
woman's  work  in  the  world,  when  I  asked  one  of  the  members  of 
the  Board  of  Control,  at  the  time  they  were  prescribing  our  duties, 
how  many  representatives  we  might  have  on  the  juries  which 
would  pass  upon  exhibits  that  were  wholly  or  in  part  the  work  of 
women.  His  reply  was  that  we  might  appoint  all  the  members  of 
those  juries;  that  they  were  perfectly  willing  for  us  to  name  the 
entire  jury  that  was  to  award  prizes  in  departments  where  women's 
work  was  to  be  judged.  This  was  so  overwhelming,  that  I  modestly 
insisted  that  we  name  only  one-half  of  such  juries,  as  otherwise, 
though  I  did  not  tell  him  so,  we  should  have  had  the  appointing  of 
all  the  members  of  all  the  juries  of  the  Exposition,  except  in  very 
few  of  the  departments  of  classification. 

The  desire  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  is  to  present  a  com- 
plete picture  of  the  condition  of  women  in  every  country  of  the 
world  at  this  moment,  and  more  particularly  of  those  women  who 
are  bread-winners.  We  wish  to  know  whether  they  continue  to  do 
the  hard,  wearing  work  of  the  world  at  prices  which  will  not  main- 
tain life,  and  under  unhealthy  conditions;  whether  they  have  access 
to  the  common  schools  and  to  the  colleges,  and  after  having  taken 
the  prescribed  course  are  permitted  graduating  honors;  whether 
the  women,  in  countries  where  educational  facilities  are  afforded 
them,  take  a  higher  stand  in  all  the  active  industries  of  life  as  well 
as  in  intellectual  pursuits;  how  large  the  proportion  is  of  those  who 
have  shown  themselves  capable  of  taking  honors  in  the  colleges  to 
which  they  are  admitted,  etc. 


MARBLE    BUST   OF    PRINCESS   OBOLENSKY.    PRINCESS  M.  ScHAHOVSKOY.    RUSSIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  23 

We  aim  to  show,  also,  the  new  avenues  of  employment  that  are 
constantly  being  opened  to  women,  and  in  which  of  these  they  are 
most  successful  by  reason  of  their  natural  adaptability;  what  edu- 
cation will  best  fit  them  for  the  new  opportunities  awaiting  them, 
and  to  answer  a  host  of  kindred  questions. 

After  a  long  period  of  inaction  the  enrollment  of  foreign  women 
was  rapidly  effected,  and  we  are  now  possessed  of  the  most  power- 
ful organization  that  has  ever  existed  among  women,  having  official 
committees,  created  by  government  and  supported  by  government 
funds,  cooperating  with  us  in  England,  France,  Italy,  Germany, 
Spain,  Austria,  Russia,  Belgium,  Holland,  Sweden,  Norway,  Greece, 
Siam,  Japan,  Algeria,  Cape  Colony,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Nicaragua,  the 
Argentine  Republic,  Jamaica,  Ceylon,  Brazil,  Colombia,  Ecuador, 
Venezuela,  Panama,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

The  members  of  the  English  committee,  under  the  patronage 
of  the  Queen,  and  of  which  the  Princess  Christian  is  president, 
have  been  chosen  with  singular  discretion.  Each  chairman  is  a 
power  in  herself,  as  well  as  perfect  mistress  of  her  own  line  of  work; 
and  all  are  enthusiastically  following  the  leadership  of  their  much- 
loved  president.  To  give  an  indication  of  the  strength  and  effi- 
ciency of  this  committee,  I  need  only  mention  such  names  as  the 
Duchess  of  Abercorn,  the  Marchioness  of  Salisbury,  the  Countess 
of  Aberdeen,  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  Lady  Brassey,  Baroness 
Burdett-Coutts,  Lady  Knutsford,  Lady  Jeune,  Mrs.  Bedford-Fen- 
wick,  and  Mrs.  Fawcett. 

In  France  Madame  Carnot  accepted  the  active  presidency  of 
the  committee.  She  secured  committees  of  the  most  earnest, 
influential,  and  competent  women  to  second  her  own  efforts. 

Italy  was  almost  the  first  to  announce  its  committee,  under  the 
special  patronage  of  Queen  Margherita,  who  is  personally  directing 
the  work,  and  who  will  send  her  marvelous  collection  of  historical 
laces,  some  of  which  date  back  1,000  years  before  Christ,  having 
been  taken  from  Egyptian  and  Etruscan  tombs.  They  are  both 
personal  and  crown  property,  and  have  never  before  left  Italy. 
This  royally  generous  response  to  our  appeal  was  doubly  welcome, 
for  it  came  when  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two  countries 
were  suspended,  and  it  was  intended  as  a  special  mark  of  friend- 
ship. Accompanying  this  lace  exhibit  is  a  collection  of  the  work  of 
the  Italian  women  of  to-day,  a  prominent  feature  of  which  is  the 
lace  made  by  the  peasant  women  in  the  societies  organized  by,  and 
under  the  direction  of,  the  queen.  This  exhibit  will  be  one  of  the 
noted  features  of  our  building. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  25 

Russia,  which  has  a  committee  organized  by  the  Empress  her- 
self, sends  its  remarkable  laces  and  embroideries,  and  many 
curious  national  costumes,  which  are  very  picturesque  and  attract- 
ive, both  in  color  and  design. 

Japan  at  first  hesitated,  and  refused  to  appoint  a  committee,  but 
M.  de  Guerville  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  permitted  to  give  his 
lecture  before  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Japan,  and  so  inter- 
ested the  latter  that  she  consented  to  become  the  head  of  a  com- 
mittee of  ladies  with  whom  we  are  now  in  active  correspondence. 
From  parts  of  South  America  we  shall  rely  mainly  upon  the 
kindly  cooperation  of  the  Latin-American  department,  which  will 
send  us  such  native  work  as  can  be  spared  from  its  own  rich  and 
varied  collection.  Although  we  have  cooperating  committees 
there,  they  have  as  yet  made  no  definite  reports  as  to  what  we  may 
expect  from  them. 

Madame  Diaz  has  most  kindly  cooperated  with  us,  and  has 
offered  for  our  building,  in  addition  to  other  novel  attractions,  an 
orchestra  of  Mexican  girls  in  rich  costumes,  who  will  play  the 
national  Mexican  airs. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  names  on  our  foreign  committees  repre- 
sent not  only  royalty  and  the  influence  of  government,  but  include 
also  many  women  who  have  risen  to  the  positions  which  they 
occupy  by  their  own  unaided  talents,  who,  without  titles  or  wealth 
to  assist  them,  are  recommended  only  by  their  evident  ability  to 
carry  on  the  important  lines  of  work  intrusted  to  their  hands. 

The  powerful  organization  which  we  have  secured  extends 
around  the  world,  and  stands  with  perfect  solidarity  for  the  purpose 
of  serving  the  interests  of  our  sex  and  making  the  industrial  con- 
ditions easier  for  them.  We  have  such  an  organization  as  has 
never  before  existed  of  women  for  women.  That  this  work  is 
needed  is  evidenced  by  the  pathetic  answers  from  some  of  the 
countries  where  our  invitation  has  been  declined.  For  instance,  a 
letter  received  from  the  government  of  Tunis  states  that  a  com- 
mission of  women  can  not  be  formed  in  that  country,  because  local 
prejudice  will  not  allow  the  native  women  to  take  part  in  public 
affairs.  Syrian  correspondents  write  that  it  will  be  impossible  to 
secure  the  official  appointment  of  a  committee  of  women  in  that 
country,  as  custom  prevents  women  from  taking  hold  of  such  work, 
and  the  government  will  lend  no  aid;  but  that  an  effort  will  be 
made  to  send  a  small  exhibit,  unofficially.  Other  oriental  countries 
make  the  same  reports — no  schools;  women  not  intelligent  enough 
to  undertake  the  work ;  public  prejudice,  etc.  It  seems  incredible 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  27 

that  the  governments  of  these  countries  would  be  willing  to  make 
admissions  which  reflect  so  much  upon  themselves,  or  that  they 
would  allow  these  shameful  conditions  to  continue.  The  oppressive 
bonds  laid  upon  women,  both  by  religion  and  custom,  are  in  some 
cases  so  strong  as  to  be  insurmountable,  probably,  during  the  pres- 
ent generation.  A  lady  eminent  for  her  work  on  behalf  of  the 
women  of  India,  has  informed  me  that  the  difficulty  in  doing  any- 
thing for  them  is  their  absolute  mental  inactivity  and  their  lack  of 
desire  to  change  their  condition;  they  are  so  bound  by  the  prevail- 
ing laws  of  caste  and  the  prejudices  that  exist,  that  they  have  no 
wish  for  different  surroundings;  the  desire  for  something  better 
must  be  created  before  anything  can  be  done  to  help  them. 

We  have  the  hopeful  fact  to  record,  however,  that  even  where 
the  night  has  seemed  the  darkest,  we  have  received  letters  from 
native  women,  to  whom  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  is  visible,  show- 
ing a  full  comprehension  of  the  situation  and  an  awakened  intelli- 
gence. These  women  are  working  in  their  feeble  way  to  send  us, 
unofficially,  such  an  exhibit  as  they  can  get  together,  notwithstand- 
ing official  refusals.  It  is  unfortunate  that  we  can  not  hope  to  have 
women  from  the  Orient  present  in  large  numbers  at  the  Exposition, 
so  that  they  might  profit  by  its  civilizing  influences. 

When  our  building  was  planned,  we  thought  with  some  anxiety 
of  the  difficulty  we  would  experience  in  getting  creditable  objects 
to  fill  so  vast  a  space,  but  now  we  find  that  a  building  four  or  five 
times  as  large  would  have  been  inadequate.  I  now  feel  sure  that 
notwithstanding  the  disappointments  to  exhibitors,  this  is  a  benefit 
to  the  quality  of  the  collection,  for  such  a  vigorous  process  of  elimi- 
nation has  been  required  in  order  to  bring  the  exhibits  within  the 
bounds  assigned,  that  it  has  resulted  in  the  exclusion  of  all  but  the 
most  desirable  and  attractive  objects. 

The  moment  of  fruition  has  arrived.  Hopes  which  for  more 
than  two  years  have  gradually  been  gaining  strength  and  definite- 
ness  have  now  become  realities.  The  Exposition  has  opened  its 
gates.  On  the  occasion  of  the  formal  opening  of  the  Woman's 
Building  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  was  singularly  fortunate  in 
having  the  honor  of  welcoming  distinguished  official  representa- 
tives of  many  of  the  able  foreign  committees,  and  of  the  State 
boards  which  have  so  effectively  cooperated  with  it  in  accomplish- 
ing results  now  disclosed  to  the  world.  We  have  traveled  together 
a  hitherto  untrodden  path,  have  been  subjected  to  tedious  delays, 
and  overshadowed  by  dark  clouds  which  threatened  disaster  to  our 
enterprise.  We  have  been  obliged  to  march  with  peace  offerings 


OIL  PAINTING --"A  VISION."    FRAU  BIEBER  BOHM.    GERMANY. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  29 

in  our  hands',  lest  hostile  motives  be  ascribed  to  us.  Our  burdens 
have  been  greatly  lightened,  however,  by  the  spontaneous  sym- 
pathy and  aid  which  have  reached  us  from  women  in  every  part 
of  the  world,  and  which  have  proved  an  added  incentive  and 
inspiration. 

When  our  invitation  asking  cooperation  was  sent  to  foreign 
lands,  the  commissioners  already  appointed  generally  smiled  doubt- 
fully, and  explained  that  their  women  were  doing  nothing;  that 
they  would  not  feel  inclined  to  help  us,  and  in  many  cases  stated 
that  it  was  not  the  custom  of  their  country  for  women  to  take  part 
in  any  public  effort;  that  they  only  attended  to  their  social  duties, 
drove  in  the  parks,  etc.  But  as  soon  as  these  ladies  received  our 
message,  sent  in  a  brief  and  formal  letter,  the  free-masonry  among 
women  proved  to  be  such  that  it  needed  no  explanation;  they 
understood  at  once  the  possibilities.  Strong  committees  were 
immediately  formed  of  women  having  large  hearts  and  brains — 
women  who  can  not  selfishly  enjoy  the  ease  of  their  own  lives 
without  giving  a  thought  to  their  helpless  and  wretched  sisters. 

Our  unbounded  thanks  are  due  to  the  exalted  and  influential 
personages  who  became,  in  their  respective  countries,  patronesses 
and  leaders  of  the  movement  inaugurated  by  us  to  represent  what 
women  are  doing.  They  entered  with  appreciation  into  our  work 
for  the  Exposition,  because  they  saw  an  opportunity — which  they 
gracefully  and  delicately  veiled  behind  the  magnificent  laces  form- 
ing the  central  objects  in  their  superb  collections — to  aid  their 
women  by  opening  new  markets  for  their  wares. 

This  was  the  earnest  purpose  of  their  majesties  the  Empress  of 
Russia  and  Queen  of  Italy,  both  so  noted  for  the  progressive  spirit 
they  have  displayed  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  women  under 
their  kindly  rule.  They  have  sent  large  collections  of  the  work  of 
peasant  women,  through  organizations  which  exist  under  their 
patronage  for  selling  their  handiwork. 

The  committee  of  Belgian  ladies  was  kind  enough  to  take 
special  pains  to  comply  with  our  request  for  statistics  concerning- 
the  industries  and  condition  of  women,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  collecting  of  statistics  is  not  in  Europe  so  popular  as  with 
us.  It  has  sent  complete  reports,  attractively  prepared  in  the  form 
of  monographs  and  charts,  giving  details  which  have  been  secured 
only  by  great  personal  effort.  Such  figures  have  never  before 
been  obtained  in  that  country,  and  the  committee  itself  is  surprised 
at  the  great  amount  of  novel  and  valuable  information  it  has 
succeeded  in  presenting. 


30  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  England  has  kindly  sent  an  exhibit 
of  the  work  of  her  own  hands,  with  the  message  that  while  she 
usually  feels  no  interest  in  expositions,  she  gives  this  special  token 
of  sympathy  with  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  because 
of  its  efforts  for  women.  That  the  English  committee  has  included 
in  its  exhibit  and  in  its  catalogue  a  plea  for  the  higher  education 
of  women  is  in  itself  a  significant  fact. 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Siam  has  sent  a  special  delegate 
with  directions  that  she  put  herself  under  our  leadership  and  learn 
what  industrial  and  educational  advantages  are  open  to  women  in 
other  countries,  so  that  Siam  may  adopt  such  measures  as  will 
elevate  the  condition  of  her  women. 

The  Exposition  will  thus  benefit  women,  not  alone  by  means 
of  the  material  objects  brought  together,  but  there  will  be  a  more 
lasting  and  permanent  result  through  the  interchange  of  thought 
and  sympathy  among  influential  and  leading  women  of  all  coun- 
tries, now  for  the  first  time  working  together  with  a  common  pur- 
pose and  an  established  means  of  communication.  Government 
recognition  and  sanction  give  to  these  committees  of  women  official 
•character  and  dignity.  Their  work  has  been  magnificently  success- 
ful, and  the  reports  which  will  be  made  of  the  conditions  found  to 
exist  will  be  placed  on  record  as  public  documents  among  the 
archives  of  every  country. 

We  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  this  beautiful  building,  in  its 
delicacy,  symmetry,  and  strength.  We  honor  our  architect  and 
the  artists,  who  have  given  not  only  their  hands  but  their  hearts 
and  their  genius  to  its  decoration. 

The  eloquent  president  of  the  Commission  last  October  dedi- 
cated the  great  Exposition  to  humanity.  We  dedicate  the  Woman's 
Building  to  an  elevated  womanhood,  knowing  that  by  so  doing  we 
shall  best  serve  the  cause  of  humanity. 

To  serve  as  a  permanent  record  of  the  many  rare  and  beautiful 
objects  now  gathered  in  the  Woman's  Building,  which  will  so  soon 
be  scattered  to  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  this  illustrated  volume 
has  been  prepared.  We  greatly  regret  that  lack  of  time  and  space 
has  prevented  our  doing  complete  justice  to  the  achievements  of 
our  sex,  but  hope  that  what  has  been  accomplished  may  prove  of 
service  as  a  basis  for  future  work. 

BERTHA  HONORE  PALMER. 


MARBLE   STATUE— "SPRING."    MME.  L.  CONTAN.    FRANCE. 


THE   BUILDING   AND   ITS   DECORATION. 

THE  great  work  of  the  world  is  carried  on  by  those  inseparable 
yoke-mates  man  and  woman,  but  there  are  certain  feminine 
touches  in  the  spiritual  architecture  which  each  generation 
raises  as  a  temple  to  its  own  genius,  and  it  is  as  a  record  of  this 
essentially  feminine  side  of  human  effort  that  the  Woman's  Build- 
ing is  dedicated. 

In  the  dread  art  of  war  the  male  element  of  the  race  asserts 
itself  alone.  In  its  antithesis,  the  art  of  peace,  woman  is  para- 
mount. We  are  yoke-fellows,  equal  and  indivisible,  tugging  and 
straining  at  the  load  of  humanity  which  we  must  drag  a  few  paces 
onward  ere  our  work  is  done.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  throng  of 
tireless  workers  there  are  a  few  men  and  women  who,  when  the 
heat  and  stress  of  the  day  are  over,  climb  to  the  hill-tops,  and  look- 
ing into  the  mute  heavens  read  the  promise  of  the  coming  day. 
A  generation  ago  the  seers  of  our  race  foretold  two  great  things: 
a  material  growth  and  prosperity,  the  like  of  which  the  world  has 
never  seen;  a  mastery  of  electricity,  that  most  potent  of  man's 
friendly  genii,  and  a  great  city  through  which  the  traffic  of  the  world 
should  roll,  one  of  the  strongholds  of  the  earth — all  this  the  voice  of 
the  male  seer  foretold  from  his  tower,  and  much  more. 

A  clearer,  sweeter  prophecy  went  forth  from  the  tower  where 
the  wise  women  watched  the  signs  of  the  times:  "  Woman  the 
acknowledged  equal  of  man;  his  true  helpmate,  honored  and 
beloved,  honoring  and  loving  as  never  before  since  Adam  cried, 
*  The  woman  tempted  me  and  I  did  eat.' ' 

We  have  eaten  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  and  the 
Eden  of  idleness  is  hateful  to  us.  We  claim  our  inheritance,  and 
are  become  workers,  not  cumberers  of  the  earth. 

Twenty  years  ago  to  be  called  strong-minded  was  a  reproach 
which  brought  the  blood  to  the  cheek  of  many  a  woman.  To-day 
there  are  few  of  our  sisters  who  do  not  prefer  to  be  classed  among 
strong-minded  rather  than  among  weak-minded  women.  The 
battle  has  been  fought  out,  and  the  veterans  who  have  been 
wounded  and  scarred  with  that  cruelest  weapon  of  ridicule,  smile 

3  (33) 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

to    see   how   easily  we   assume    the 
position  which  they  gave  the  glory 
of  their  youth   to   win  for  us.     We 
honor  these  women  and  have  written 
i      their  names  in  golden  letters  for  all 
5      the  world  to  see  and    salute  in  our 
:      Hall  of  Honor. 

3 

I  To  see  the  work  of  woman  at  the 

World's   Fair  we   must  go   through 

1  every    department    of    human    inge- 
\      nuity,  for  there   is   scarcely   one   of 

these  where  woman's  hand  has  not 

fl 

3  done  a  share  of  the  work.  The  work 
3  of  man  and  woman,  like  their  inter- 
is  ests,  is  one  and  indivisible. 

In  welcoming  the  visitor  to  our 

*  building,  we  would  say:  "  Enter  here 
\      for  a  space ;  sit  in  our  library  and  rest 

your  eyes  with  its  soft  colors;  pace 
\  through  our  Hall  of  Honor  and  under- 
D  stand  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  raised; 

leave  criticism  upon  the  threshold  as 
>  you  enter.  Our  salutation  is,  '  Peace 

*  be  with  you.'     May  your  answer  be, 

2  '  And  with  you  be  peace.'  " 

!,  When   I  first  wandered   through 
the   courts   of  this   miraculous   city, 

\  which  has  arisen  as  if  by  magic  out 

\  of  the  desolate  borderland  between 

-<  the  prairie  and  the  lake,  I  was  moved, 

t  as  rarely  ever  before,  by  the  work  of 

*  man's  hand.     I  have  stood  upon  the 
z  edge    of    the    Egyptian    desert    and 
2  gazed   with    questioning    eyes   upon 
§  the  mighty  sphinx.     I  have  seen  the 
£  glories  of  the  Acropolis  and  knelt  at 

g    Y      the- shrine  of  the  (i reek,  but  neither 

*  of  these  superlative  legacies  of  the 
past  impressed  me  more  than  did  this 
prophecy  of  the  future.    For  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  our  nation,  the 
spirit  of  art  has  asserted  itself,  and 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING 


triumphs  over  its  handmaidens,  com- 
merce and  manufacture.  The  beau- 
ties of  the  Athens  of  Pericles,  the 
Rome  of  Augustus,  are  indeed  re- 
called by  what  we  see,  but  a  new  art 
is  foretold,  whose  ruins  will  one  day 
be  honored  as  we  honor  the  classic 
fragments  of  Greece  and  Rome  to- 
day. Comparison  is  nowhere  more 
odious  than  where  all  is  excellent; 
in  my  own  thought  our  building 
stands  on  its  own  merits,  and  yet  it 
bears  comparison  with  all  the  rest, 
and  loses  nothing  by  it.  There  may 
be  others  which  have  qualities  which 
it  lacks.  It  borrows  beauty  from  its 
august  neighbors  and  from  its  mir- 
rored reflection  in  the  lagoon,  but  it 
lends  as  much  as  it  receives,  and  the 
winged  temple  is  joyfully  restful  to 
eyes  wearied  with  much  gazing.  A 
work  of  art  is  precious  in  so  far  as  it 
expresses  the  personality  of  its  cre- 
ator. Architecture  is  one  of  the  arts 
most  subservient  to  use,  and  a  build- 
ing should  not  only  express  the 
genius  of  the  architect  but  the  pur- 
pose to  which  it  is  dedicated.  How 
well  the  architects  of  the  great  Gothic 
churches  understood  this  law.  No 
other  form  of  religious  architecture 
expresses  so  exalted  a  spirituality  as 
theirs.  The  aspiring  lines,  the  up- 
springing  arches  of  the  great  Gothic 
cathedrals  lead  the  eyes  upward  to 
the  sky;  the  mind  to  reflection  and 
aspiration.  Our  building  is  essentially 
feminine  in  character;  it  has  the 
qualities  of  reserve,  delicacy,  and  re- 
finement. Its  strength  is  veiled  in 
grace;  its  beauty  is  gently  impress- 
ive; it  does  not  take  away  the  breath 


36 


ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 


with  a  sudden  passion  of  admiration,  like  some  of  its  neighbors, 
but  it  grows  upon  us  day  after  day,  like  a  beloved  face  whose 
beauty,  often  forgotten  because  the  face  is  loved  for  itself,  now 


DECORATIVE    PANEL— "THE    WOMEN    OF    PLYMOUTH." 
LUCIA  FAIRCHILD.  UNITED  STATES. 

and  again  breaks  upon  us  with  all  the  charm  of  novelty.  I  came 
upon  our  building  suddenly  one  early  morning,  when  the  mist- 
curtain  was  rolling  away  under  a  crisp  breeze  and  an  ardent  sun. 
My  heart  leaped  to  a  more  generous  measure.  I  drew  my  breath 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


37 


quickly.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  should  always  see  it  as  then,  peer- 
less, shining,  a  fair  temple  to  that  which  is  essentially  feminine  in 
human  life.  The  next  day  I  hurried  to  my  work  within  its  doors 
with  a  single  thought,  that  it  was  well  and  conveniently  arranged 
for  my  purpose;  but  in  the  coming  years  I  shall  see  our  building  in 
all  its  beauty  as  I  saw  it  on  that  never-to-be-forgotten  morning. 


DECORATIVE    PANEL  — «  ARCADIA. " 
AMANDA  BREWSTER  SEWELL.  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Woman's  Building  was  planned  by  Miss  Sophia  Hayden  of 
Boston,  a  graduate  of  the  Massachusetts  School  of  Technology,  of 
the  class  of  1890.  A  national  competition  of  designs  by  women 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  Miss  Hayden's  plans.  The  site  is  admira- 
bly chosen  from  an  artistic  and  practical  standpoint.  The  building 
stands  between  the  Horticultural  Hall  and  the  Bureau  of  Public 


38  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

Comfort,  directly  adjacent  to  the  Sixtieth  Street  entrance  of  the 
Fair.  The  nearest  station  of  the  suburban  railway  may  be  reached 
in  a  two  minutes'  walk. 

Nothing  is  more  significant  of  the  difference  in  woman's  posi- 
tion in  the  first  and  the  latter  half  of  our  century  than  the  fact  that 
none  of  the  eminent  writers  who  have  commented  upon  Miss  Hay- 
den's  work  have  thought  to  praise  it  by  saying  that  it  looks  like  a 
man's  work.  Marian  Evans  and  Aurore  Dupin  found  it  necessary  to 
cloak  their  womanhood  under  the  noms  de  plume  of  George  Eliot 
and  George  Sand.  Rosa  Bonheur  found  it  convenient  to  wear 
man's  attire  while  visiting  the  Parisian  stock-yards  in  order  to 
study  the  animals  for  her  great  pictures.  At  that  time  the  highest 
praise  that  could  be  given  to  any  woman's  work  was  the  criticism 
that  it  was  so  good  that  it  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  a  man's. 
To-day  we  recognize  that  the  more  womanly  a  woman's  work  is  the 
stronger  it  is.  In  Mr.  Henry  Van  Brunt's  appreciative  account  of 
Miss  Hayden's  work,  the  writer  points  out  that  it  is  essentially  femi- 
nine in  quality,  as  it  should  be.  If  sweetness  and  light  were  ever 
expressed  in  architecture,  we  find  them  in  Miss  Hayden's  building. 
Every  line  expresses  elegance,  grace,  harmony. 

The  building  is  in  the  style  of  the  villas  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance. It  is  388  feet  long,  199  feet  wide,  and  70  feet  high.  It  is 
divided  into  two  stories,  which  are  clearly  indicated  by  the  lines  of 
the  exterior.  The  most  important  feature  required  of  the  architect 
was  the  Hall  of  Honor,  which  forms  the  middle  of  the  structure. 
This  is  a  noble  apartment,  rising  to  the  full  height  of  the  building, 
surrounded  by  a  lower  two-story  structure  forming  the  four  facades, 
and  containing  the  minor  halls  and  offices  required  for  committee 
and  exhibition  rooms.  At  the  second  story  a  corridor  surrounds 
the  hall,  treated  in  the  way  of  a  cloister,  with  graceful  arches 
springing  from  well-proportioned  columns.  Looking  at  the  build- 
ing from  the  water  side,  we  have  a  central  entrance  and  a  pavilion 
at  each  end  connected  by  an  arcade.  The  main  entrance  has  three 
arches  and  is  surmounted  by  a  loggia  inclosed  by  a  colonnade,  over 
which  rises  the  pediment.  The  loggia  connects  with  a  balcony, 
which  runs  from  the  central  entrance  to  the  pavilions  and  is 
enriched  with  pilasters  of  the  Corinthian  order.  Over  the  pavilions 
are  roof-gardens,  surrounded  by  an  open  screen  of  light  Ionic 
columns,  with  caryatides  over  the  loggia  below.  The  ornamenta- 
tion which  outlines  the  arches  and  enriches  the  exterior  is  most 
appropriate.  The  finely  modeled  pediment  and  the  eight  typical 
groups  of  sculpture  surmounting  the  open  screen  around  the  roof- 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  39 

garden  are  in  harmony  with  the  purity,  simplicity,  and  dignity  of 
the  building,  proving  that  Miss  Rideout,  the  young  Californian 
sculptor  of  these  charming  groups,  worked  in  perfect  sympathy 
with  the  architect. 

The  group  represented  in  the  pediment  typifies  woman's  work 
in  the  various  walks  of  life.     The  central  figure  is  full  of  spirit  and 


DECORATIVE    PANEL— "THE  REPUBLIC'S  WELCOME  TO  HER  DAUGHTERS." 
ROSINA    EMMET    SHERWOOD.  UNITED  STATES.    (Copyrighted.) 

charm.  In  one  hand  she  holds  a  myrtle  wreath;  in  the  other,  the 
scales  of  justice.  On  her  right,  we  find  Woman  the  Benefactor; 
and  on  her  left,  the  Woman,  the  Artist  and  Litterateur.  The 
figures  are  modeled  in  very  high  relief,  and  the  whole  work  has  an 


40  ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 

infinitely  joyous  and  hopeful  quality.  This  is  equally  true  of  the 
winged  groups,  which  are  in  delightful  contrast  to  the  familiar  and 
hackneyed  types  that  serve  to  represent  Virtue,  Sacrifice,  Charity, 
and  the  other  qualities  which  sculptors  have  personified,  time  out 
of  mind,  by  large,  heavy,  dull-looking  stone  women.  The  sculpture 
throughout  the  Fair  is  of  a  character  that  deserves  a  more  lasting 
form  than  it  now  possesses.  A  large  proportion  of  the  plaster 
figures  of  men,  women,  and  animals  which  enrich  the  White  City 
deserve  to  be  preserved  in  bronze  or  marble  infinitely  more  than 
most  of  the  sculpture  which  is  shown  in  the  art  gallery. 

Hereafter  the  old  charge  that  there  is  no  art  atmosphere  in  our 
country  will,  I  think,  prove  a  futile  and  groundless  one.  A  single 
visit  to  the  World's  Fair  must  convince  the  most  indifferent 
European-American  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the  case  at  an 
earlier  period,  the  country  which  has  produced  this  great,  harmoni- 
ous, artistic  whole  is  not  entirely  lacking  in  art  atmosphere. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  this  building  is  the  hospitality 
suggested  throughout;  the  cool  and  quiet  arcades  where  the  visitor 
may  sit  and  look  out  upon  the  varied  scenes  hourly  enacted  in  that 
corner  of  the  World's  Fair;  the  roof-gardens,  from  which  a  fine 
view  may  be  had  of  the  distant  buildings,  with  the  shimmering  lake 
beyond.  Here  one  may  dine  comfortably  and  well,  or  enjoy  "  a 
dish  of  tea  and  talk,"  at  the  end  of  the  long  day  of  work  and  pleas- 
ure. Our  building's  highest  mission  perhaps  will  be  to  soothe, 
to  rest,  to  refresh  the  great  army  of  sight-seers  who  march  daily 
through  the  Fair. 

I  have  heard  from  these  birds  of  passage  various  interesting 
comments  on  our  building.  One  of  these  I  remember  as  particu- 
larly expressive  of  its  influence,  coming  as  it  did  from  a  tired 
woman,  who  had  labored  generously  and  ceaselessly  for  many 
months  at  her  little  part  of  the  great  work.  "  I  call  it  the  flying 
building,"  she  said;  "  it  seems  to  lift  the  weight  off  my  feet  when  I 
look  at  those  big  angels." 

The  interior  decoration  is  as  appropriate  and  simple  as  the 
exterior.  Touches  of  gold,  here  and  there,  relieve  the  purity  of 
the  whitest  building  in  all  the  White  City.  The  Hall  of  Honor  is 
unbroken  by  pillars  or  supports,  and  rises  grandly  to  its  seventy  feet 
of  height.  It  is  67^  feet  wide  and  200  feet  long.  Statistics,  how- 
ever, avail  us  but  little  in  looking  at  this  noble  hall,  and  it  is  best  to 
remember  only  that  it  is  as  high  as  our  hopes  for  it  have  been.  Hon- 
ored names  are  here  written  in  letters  of  gold — the  names  of  women 
great  in  art,  in  song,  in  thought,  in  science,  in  statecraft,  and  in  liter- 


Engraved  by  Hand,  McNally  &  Co. 

THE   COLUMBIAN   FOUNTAIN. 

DESIGNED   BY   FREDERICK   MACMONNIES. 

COLUMBIA,  ENTHRONED,  is  PROPELLED  BY  THE  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  AND  STEERED  BY  FATHER  TIME. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  43 

ature.  Side  by  side  with  the  sovereigns  of  Europe — Isabella,  Eliza- 
beth, and  Victoria — are  the  names  of  the  workers,  the  seers,  the 
pioneers  who  long  ago  laid  the  true  foundation  of  this  building. 
Some  of  them  are  living:  still,  thank  God — women  whose  keen  eyes 


DECORATIVE   PANEL— "ART,  SCIENCE,  AND   LITERATURE." 
•  LYDIA    EMMET.    UNITED  STATES.    (Copyrighted.) 

foresaw  the  coming  of  the  day  that  has  dawned;  the  day  of  which 
John  Stuart  Mill  said:     "  The  women's  hour  has  struck." 

The  north  tympanum  of  the  hall  is  enriched  by  a  decorative 
painting  by  Mrs.  Frederick  MacMonnies,  representing  the  Primi- 
tive Woman.  At  the  other  end  Miss  Mary  Cassatt  presents  her 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  45 

conception  of  Modern  Woman.  Mrs.  MacMonnies'  subject  is  well 
chosen  and  ably  treated.  On  the  extreme  right  we  have  a  single 
male  figure,  a  hunter  clad  in  skins — he  has  just  returned  from  the 
chase.  A  group  of  women  and  children  bear  away  the  game 
he  has  killed  and  minister  to  his  wants.  A  kneeling  girl  crushes 
a  bunch  of  grapes  into  a  cup  to  refresh  the  tawny  giant.  In 
the  middle  grouping  we  have  woman,  the  bearer  of  burdens, 
typified  by  a  band  of  girls  carrying  water-jars.  In  the  foreground  a 
maiden  bathes  a  laughing  child  in  a  clear  stream,  while  a  mother 
advances  toward  the  water  bearing  two  children  in  her  arms.  On 
the  extreme  left  we  see  the  sturdy  daughters  of  the  plow  driving  a 
yoke  of  milk-white  oxen.  A  band  of  sowers  scatters  the  grain  in 
the  new-made  furrows,  while  one  tired  girl,  kneeling  in  the  fore- 
ground, drinks  from  a  vase.  The  background  of  trees  and  water 
and  distant  land  is  excellently  treated.  The  dark  figures  of  two 
horsemen  are  to  be  seen  at  the  extreme  right.  .  Mrs.  MacMonnies' 
work  is  of  a  high  order;  it  shows  a  true  decorative  sense,  a  sure 
hand,  and  a  fresh,  joyous  imagination.  Artistically  and  intellect- 
ually it  is  a  composition  which  commends  itself  to  all  those  who 
understand  and  honor  the  idea  for  which  our  building  stands. 

The  central  portion  of  Miss  Cassatt's  panel  shows  us  a  group  of 
young  women  gathering  apples  in  a  pleasant  orchard.  On  the 
right  is  a  band  of  ladies  variously  engaged.  One  is  playing  upon 
a  stringed  instrument,  while  another  poses  in  one  of  the  attitudes 
of  the  modern  skirt-dance.  On  the  left  we  have  Fame,  a  flying 
figure,  pursued  by  a  flock  of  ducks  and  women.  The  border  of  the 
tympanum  is  very  charming;  the  children  quite  beautifully  painted. 
Both  Mrs.  MacMonnies  and  Miss  Cassatt  received  orders  for  their 
work  from  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Woman's  Building.  The 
two  decorations  were  executed  in  Paris  and  sent  to  Chicago. 

Four  large  decorative  panels  enrich  the  sides  of  the  hall. 

New  England's  contribution  to  the  decoration  of  the  Woman's 
Building  is  shown  in  one  of  these  large  panels,  which  illustrates  the 
duties  and  avocations  of  the  Pilgrim  Mothers  and  Daughters.  The 
painter,  Miss  Lucia  Fairchild  of  Boston,  a  young  artist  of  great 
promise,  has  chosen  for  her  subject  a  group  of  women  engaged  in 
domestic  labor.  In  the  foreground  a  kneeling  girl  is  washing 
dishes  in  a  pool  of  still  water;  one  of  her  sisters  stands  beside  her 
drying  a  pewter  basin.  On  the  left,  under  the  porch  of  a  humble 
cottage,  a  mother  stands  holding  an  infant  in  her  arms.  A  girl  sits 
by  her  spinning-wheel,  whose  threads  have  become  entangled. 
One  young  matron  holds  a  distaff,  while  a  girl  beside  her  is  stitching 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  47 

on  a  white  garment.  At  a  little  distance  a  group  of  children  sur- 
round their  teacher,  who,  with  an  open  book  upon  her  knees,  is 
holding  school  out  of  doors.  It  is  the  springtime  of  the  year  and 
of  the  nation;  from  the  green  plain  stretching  toward  the  distant 
sea  the  trees  lift  their  budding  branches.  In  the  background  we 
have  the  traditional  white  meeting-house  with  its  single  spire,  and 
over  a  newly  broken  road  a  pair  of  oxen  draw  a  cart  laden  with 
wood;  the  man  who  drives  them  is  necessarily  a  very  small  figure 
in  this  large,  simple  composition.  The  whole  scene  breathes 
the  atmosphere  of  that  early  New  England  which  has  found 
its  best  interpreter  in  Hawthorne.  The  harsh  but  not  inhos- 
pitable Plymouth  coast,  and  the  hardy  settlers  whose  courage  and 
resolution  laid  the  foundations  of  the  New  England  we  know 
to-day,  have  been  sketched  by  the  young  artist  with  a  strong  hand. 
The  color  scheme  is  cool  and  sober;  the  dress  and  bearing  of  the 
women  reserved,  simple,  and  full  of  character.  The  thought  behind 
the  picture  needs  no  criticism,  it  is  an  assertion  of  the  prime  duties 
of  woman,  the  home-maker  and  care-taker;  it  is  a  hint  full  of  sig- 
nificance to  our  day  and  generation,  reminding  us  that  unless  the 
higher  education  now  open  to  our  sex  makes  women  better  and 
wiser  wives  and  mothers,  it  is  a  failure. 

No  stronger  contrast  to  Miss  Fairchild's  decoration  can  be 
imagined  than  that  presented  by  the  neighboring  panel,  "  Woman 
in  Arcadia,"  by  Amanda  Brewster  Sewell.  The  former  represented 
a  cool,  demure  springtime  on  the  Plymouth  coast.  In  Arcadia  it 
is  warm,  luxurious  summer.  The  color  is  rich  and  deep;  the  pair  of 
half-nude  girls  in  the  foreground  have  a  pagan  loveliness;  the 
distant  group  gathering  oranges  are  fair  as  dream-women.  Mrs. 
Sewell  has  found  "the  way  to  Arcady,"  and  illustrates  it  to  us  very 
sympathetically.  It  seems  quite  fitting  that  in  this  great  White  City, 
this  echo  of  Hellenic  beauty,  there  should  be  an  Arcadian  corner, 
and  it  is  not  unsuitable  that  we  should  find  this  in  the  Woman':: 
Building. 

The  pair  of  panels  which  are  placed  opposite  to  those  just 
described  are  the  work  of  those  popular  painters  Rosina  Emmet 
Sherwood  and  Lydia  Emmet.  Mrs.  Sherwood's  panel  shows  us 
the  Republic  welcoming  her  daughters  and  bestowing  laurel 
crowns  upon  them.  The  composition  of  this  panel  is  very  good,  and 
the  architectural  detail  of  the  background  is  well  studied.  Miss 
Emmet's  companion  panel  is  strong  in  the  same  qualities  as  her 
sister's.  Music,  art,  and  literature  are  all  personified  in  an 
exceedingly  well-arranged  group  of  female  figures. 


BLACK    AND    WHITE    DRAWING— "  ANON    COMES    APRIL    IN    HER    JOLLITY." 
ROSINA  EMMET  SHERWOOD.    UNITED  STATES.    (From  Harper's  Magazine.    Copyrighted.) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  49 

I  shall  now  invite  the  reader  to  take  a  short  stroll  with  me 
through  the  principal  departments  of  our  building.  We  will  enter 
at  the  northern  door,  pass  through  the  loggia,  and  find  ourselves  in 
the  midst  of  the  American  exhibit  of  applied  arts.  Here  all  is  so 
excellent  that  we  can  afford  to  lose  nothing;  every  case  deserves 
examination.  As  it  is  impossible  to  speak  of  all  the  beautiful 
work  exhibited  by  associations  and  individuals,  let  us  notice  that 
of  the  "  Associated  Artists,"  the  parent  society  from  which  so  many 
schools  of  embroidery  and  design  have  sprung.  The  two  directions 
in  which  this  school  expresses  itself  are  in  the  weaving  of  textiles 
and  tapestries.  The  textiles  are  among  the  most  beautiful  fabrics 
that  have  ever  been  woven;  they  are  rich  in  color  and  exquisite  in 
texture.  Certain  effects  can  be  produced  by  the  weaving  of  silk 
which  no  pigment  can  ever  give,  for  the  silk  itself  has  a  reflective 
quality  which  is  found  in  no  other  medium.  The  tapestry  from 
Raphael's  cartoon  of  "  The  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes  "  is  a  very 
remarkable  work  of  art,  and  one  which  stands  alone  in  modern 
needlework.  The  design  was  photographed  from  the  painter's 
cartoon  upon  the  linen,  and  the  spirit  of  the  original  is  very 
perfectly  preserved. 

The  pottery  comes  next  in  interest  to  the  textiles  and  embroid- 
eries. Nowhere  is  woman  doing  better  work  than  in  the  manufact- 
ure and  decoration  of  our  native  clays.  We  find  original  and 
beautiful  vessels  of  use  and  ornament  exhibited  by  many  of  the 
States.  It  is  due  to  the  Western  States  to  say  that  in  this  branch 
of  applied  arts  they  surpass  the  Eastern. 

However  long  we  linger  in  this  section  of  the  building,  we 
leave  it  with  regret.  The  impression  which  we  carry  away  from 
it  is  that  we  are  no  longer  pensioners  of  Europe  in  the  matter  of 
designs.  To-day  we  have  an  American  Scnool  of  Design,  with  a 
distinct  national  character  of  its  own,  and  our  women  are  to  the 
fore  in  every  one  of  its  branches. 

Passing  through  the  corridor  we  enter  the  main  hall,  where 
there  is  much  to  admire  in  exhibitions  of  art  and  handicraft.  The 
laces,  in  themselves,  are  a  gallery  of  exquisite  design  and  workman- 
ship. There  is  no  danger  that  the  visitor  will  slight  the  Hall  of 
Honor,  so  we  will  not  linger  here,  but  pass  on  to  the  southern 
pavilion.  We  have  crossed  the  seas,  Spain  is  before  us;  India,  Ger- 
many, Austria,  Belgium  are  upon  our  left;  Sweden,  Mexico,  Italy, 
France  upon  the  right.  Two  rooms  of  a  Japanese  house  have  been 
cunningly  reproduced  with  the  nicety  and  finish  which  character- 
ize all  the  work  of  this  artistic  people.  The  low-ceiled  boudoir  is 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  51 

carpeted  with  matting  and  hung  with  delicately  tinted  paper.  In 
an  outer  room — a  guest-chamber — is  a  raised  cushion  of  state,  on 
which  the  honored  stranger  is  invited  to  sit  (or  squat).  A  few 
paintings  hang  upon  the  wall;  a  single  piece  of  bronze,  a  finely 
modeled  bird,  rests  on  a  lacquered  stand.  The  inner  room  is  sacred 
to  the  toilet  of  the  lady  of  the  house.  Over  a  screen  hang  rainbow- 
hued  garments  enriched  with  wonderful  embroideries.  Lacquered 
coffers  of  every  size  and  shape,  tied  with  silk  cords  of  different 
colors,  form  a  picturesque  substitute  for  our  commonplace  chests  of 
drawers.  A  polished  steel  mirror,  upon  a  stand,  shows  where  the 
mistress  of  this  dainty  boudoir  should  sit  upon  a  cushion  to  perform 
the  details  of  her  toilet.  A  lacquered  and  bronze  brazier  stands 
near,  and  a  rack  over  which  are  folded  fine  linen  towels.  A  multi- 
tude of  fine  inlaid  boxes  stand  upon  the  ground  near  the  mirror. 
Let  us  not  pry  into  their  secrets.  The  real  secret  of  the  peculiar 
charm  which  the  Japanese  women  have  always  possessed  for  men 
of  their  own  and  the  European  nations  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  are 
taught  to  be  agreeable.  With  the  Japanese,  good  manners  rise  to 
the  dignity  of  a  high  art.  Courtesy,  gentleness,  sympathy  are 
cultivated  with  the  same  care  and  skill  that  this  joyous,  pains- 
taking people  put  into  everything  that  they  do. 

We  must  not  fail  to  see  the  Japanese  parlor  in  the  second  story, 
where  the  Japanese  Commissioner  has  gathered  together  a  very 
fine  collection  of  painted  and  embroidered  screens  and  hangings. 
A  painting  upon  silk,  framed  in  a  little  shrine  in  the  end  of  this 
room,  shows  us  Sei  Shonagun,  a  learned  Japanese  woman  who 
served  the  Empress  Sada  Ko  in  the  tenth  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  She  wrote  a  book  which  is  still  famous,  an  extract  from  which 
we  may  read,  in  translation,  together  with  a  full  description  of  the 
picture.  Nothing  brings  home  the  real  significance  of  the  work 
collected  in  our  building  more  than  the  statement  made  by  the 
Japanese  Woman's  Commission  of  its  organization.  The  report 
says:  "  Her  Majesty  the  Empress  of  Japan,  with  her  usual  habits 
of  helping  any  good  work,  especially  for  her  own  sex,  most  gra- 
ciously pleased  with  the  movement,  generously  bestowed  a  large 
gift  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  commission.  Princess  Mori 
assumed  the  duty  of  chairman,  and  asked  the  members,  who  are 
mostly  ladies  of  high  rank,  to  act  as  committees.  On  the  1 3th  of 
May,  1 892,  the  first  meeting  of  the  commission  was  held  at  Shiba- 
Hama-Rikyn,  a  pleasure  palace  in  Tokio.  Since  then,  twice  a 
month  they  have  held  regular  meetings  to  consider  the  affairs  of 
the  commission." 


52 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


The  most  important  feature  of  the  second  story  is  the  Assembly 
Hall,  a  large  room  lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  building.  It  has 
a  wide  platform  and  is  admirably  adapted  for  meetings,  lectures, 
and  concerts.  The  three  stained-glass  windows  which  light  the 
stage  are  all  the  worh  and  two  of  them  the  gifts,  of  Massachusetts 
women.  The  furn  '.'.'.  2,  presented  by  the  ladies'  committee  of 
Mobile,  is  simple  and  appropriate  in  design.  A  stained-glass  win- 
dow opposite  the  platform  is  the  work  and  the  gift  of  Pennsylvania 

women.  It  was  in  this  room 
that  the  meeting  was  held  on 
the  3<Dth  of  April,  when  the 
commissioners  from  many  of 
our  own  States  and  from 
some  distant  countries  pre- 
sented to  Mrs.  Palmer  the 
gifts  offered  to  the  Woman's 
Building.  Tokens  and  tid- 
ings of  good-will  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth  were 
generously  offered  and  gra- 
ciously accepted.  The  value 
of  the  gifts,  the  nationality 
of  the  givers,  was  forgotten 
in  the  deep  significance  of 
that  meeting.  Woman  at 
last  is  rousing  from  her  long 
sleep.  We  of  the  New  World 
have  called  out  for  help,  for 
sympathy.  From  the  far  Ori- 
ent conies  back  an  answer  to 
our  cry.  The  slave  woman  of 
the  harem  murmurs,"!  hear!" 
The  Assembly  Hall  and 
the  Model  Kitchen  fill  the 
whole  of  the  northern  end  of 
the  building.  The  space 
between  the  inner  corridor 
and  the  outer  arcade  has  been 
divided  into  eight  admirably-shaped  and  well-lighted  rooms.  The 
Model  American  Kitchen  gives  an  object  lesson  to  housekeepers 
from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Passing  down  the  corridor  to  the  right  we  find  Connecticut's 


WATER-COLOR  PORTRAIT. 
ROSINA  EMMET  SHERWOOD.    UNITED  STATES. 


IN    THE  WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


63 


room,  a  bright,  cheerful  apartment,  whose  simple  and  appropriate 
decoration  we  owe  to  Miss  Sheldon  of  Hartford. 

We  come  next  to  the  first  of  the  two  Record  rooms,  which  on 
either  side  connect  with  the  library.  Here  are  kept  the  statistics 
of  woman's  work  in  many  countries,  which  have  been  collected 
with  such  patient  research.  A  frieze  formed  of  panels  of  native 
wood,  designed  and  carved  by  women  from 
our  different  States,  is  an  interesting  feature 
of  this  room. 

From  a  purely  artistic  standpoint  the 
library  is  the  most  important  feature  of  the 
building,  after  the  Hall  of  Honor.  Its  deco- 
ration has  been  intrusted  to  Mrs.  Wheeler. 
As  the  heavy  doors  swing  to,  we  find  our- 
selves in  a  well-proportioned  room,  whose 
chief  and  most  valued  quality  is  that  of 
harmony.  The  eyes,  tired  with  the  great 
demand  which  has  been  made  upon  them, 
rest  gratefully  upon  the  green  and  gold  of 
the  walls.  The  visitor  sinks  into  a  chair,  and 
for  a  long  time  thinks  of  nothing  but  the 
pleasant  coolness  of  the  place.  The  room 
has  a  character  and  individuality  that  we 
rarely  find  save  in  the  house  of  some  esthetic 
lover  of  books.  The  beautiful  dark  carved- 
oak  book-cases  are  filled  to  overflowing  with 
books  by  women  of  all  nations.  Every  room 
has  its  own  climate — we  know  whether  we 
are  visiting  in  the  arctic,  the  temperate,  or 
the  torrid  zone  five  minutes  after  entering 
a  strange  house.  Our  library  is  in  the  tem- 
perate zone — the  best  climate  for  the  scholar 
and  the  dilettante.  To  such  a  visitor  there  is 
no  single  apartment  in  the  whole  Fair  where  he  will  find  himself  so 
pleasantly  at  home.  The  chief  decoration  of  this  room  is  the  ceiling 
— the  work  of  Dora  Wheeler  Keith.  In  undertaking  this  arduous 
labor  Mrs.  Keith  attacked  the  most  difficult  branch  of  decoration, 
and  the  artist  is  to  be  congratulated  that  she  has  painted  what  is  per- 
haps the  rarest  thing  in  the  whole  range  of  art,  a  successful  ceiling. 

The  ornamentation  is  rich  and  original.  A  wide  border  of 
scroll-work  forms  the  outer  edge.  Inside  of  this  we  have  a  very 
beautifully  painted  piece  of  drapery,  enriched  here  and  there  with 


SKETCH  FOR  GLASS 

WINDOW. 

MRS.  PARRISH.  UNITED 
STATES. 


CARTOON    FOR    MEMORIAL    WINDOW. 
HELEN  MAITLAND  ARMSTRONG.    UNITED  STATES. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  55 

bunches  of  lilies,  which  weaves  itself  into  a  sort  of  garland  between 
the  four  medallions,  each  of  which  contains  a  symbolical  figure. 
The  oval  wreath  of  lilies  which  encircles  the  central  portion  is  a 
very  beautiful  and  original  feature  of  the  decoration.  The  central 
group  contains  three  figures.  Science,  a  male  figure,  sits  enthroned 
with  Literature  beside  him,  personified  by  a  graceful  woman; 
between  the  two  stands  Imagination,  reconciling  and  binding  Sci- 
ence and  Literature  to  each  other.  The  color  scheme  is  cool, 
refreshing,  and  harmonious.  In  speaking  of  this  admirable  work, 
Mrs.  Wheeler  was  heard  to  say:  "  I  think  it  is  a  worthy  composi- 
tion." I  have  heard  many  more  extravagant  phrases  applied  to 
this  decoration  by  connoisseurs  and  critics,  but  none  has  pleased 
me  so  much.  It  is  indeed  worthy  of  the  honored  name  both  mother 
and  daughter  bear — a  name  that  is  identified  with  such  a  potent 
influence  for  high  taste,  serious  work,  and  honest  endeavor.  Among 
the  founders  of  the  new  American  school  of  design  which  has  done 
so  much  for  the  education  of  our  people,  there  is  no  figure  more 
striking  than  that  of  Candace  Wheeler. 

Continuing  our  tour,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  room  devoted  to 
the  exhibit  of  the  English  Training-School  for  Nurses.  There  is 
much  that  is  valuable  and  interesting  to  study  here;  a  wonderful 
basket  trunk  with  compartments  for  caps  and  bandages,  splints, 
bonnets,  aprons,  and  all  the  other  requisites  for  the  personal  com- 
fort and  professional  duties  of  a  soldier  in  the  noble  army  of  nurses. 
The  room  is  graced  with  portraits  of  women  whose  names  never 
fail  to  arouse  an  emotion  when  they  are  pronounced — Florence 
Nightingale,  Sister  Dora,  and  a  score  of  other  less  famous  sisters  of 
humanity. 

The  Organization  Room  lies  at  the  south  end  of  the  corridor. 
Here  we  may  see  the  exhibit  of  over  fifty  associations  of  women. 
Opposite  the  library  we  have  a  suite  of  three  rooms.  The  first  of 
these,  the  Kentucky  Parlor,  is  a  very  pleasant  and  cheerful  room, 
with  a  flavor  of  the  "  old  colonial  "  in  its  decoration  and  appoint- 
ments. 

We  next  pass  into  the  Managers'  Drawing-room,  furnished, 
decorated,  and  maintained  by  the  women  of  Cincinnati.  It  is  a 
pleasant  place,  to  linger,  and  has  many  treasures  of  pottery  and 
faience. 

Beyond  is  the  California  Room,  famous  for  its  redwood.  The 
ceiling,  doors,  and  wainscoting  are  all  made  of  this  rich,  mellow 
wood,  the  grain  of  which  makes  delicate  lines  and  touches  of 
light  and  color,  which  the  high  polish  brings  out  finely. 


S.CETCH   FOR   WINDOW.    MARY  TILLINGHAST.    UNITED  STATES. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  67 

The  education  which  the  Woman's  Building  furnishes  is  not 
received  through  the  eye  alone;  the  ear  conies  into  play  for  a  very 
important  share.  Every  morning,  at  10  o'clock,  an  illustrated 


PAINTED    SCREEN.     FRANCE. 

lecture  is  given  in  the  model  kitchen  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Tyson  Rorer. 
One  of  the  special  subjects  treated  by  the  teacher  is  the  preparation 
of  Indian  corn.  The  kitchen,  which  is  maintained  at  the  expense 


58  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

of  the  Illinois  Ladies'  Board,  is  really  doing  a  missionary  work. 
Mrs.  Rorer  maintains  that  educated  cooking  is  as  much  a  science  as 
chemistry,  and  she  thoroughly  believes  in  the  saying  that  "  the 
inventor  of  a  new  and  wholesome  dish  is  of  greater  value  to  his 
fellow-creatures  than  the  discoverer  of  a  new  planet."  Of  all  the 
pleasant  features  of  our  building,  I  have  found  nothing  more  inter- 
esting than  these  sessions  with  Mrs.  Rorer.  To  hear  the  mysteries 
of  baking,  roasting,  and  boiling  intelligently  explained,  and  to 
watch  at  the  same  time  the  skillful  preparation  of  a  dainty  dish,  is  a 
pleasant  and  instructive  occupation.  The  infinite  variety  of  forms 
into  which  the  Indian  corn  can  be  transmuted  by  an  intelligent 
cook  was  a  revelation  to  most  of  Mrs.  Rorer's  hearers. 

Another  pleasant  educational  exhibit  of  a  similar  nature  is  to 
be  found  in  the  garden  cafe,  where  Mrs.  Riley,  a  graduate  of  the 
Boston  Cooking  School,  provides  home  cooking  of  the  most  appetiz- 
ing description  for  the  hungry  sight-seer,  but  opens  her  kitchen  for 
public  inspection  every  afternoon  for  an  hour.  The  restaurant 
serves  a  double  purpose — it  feeds  the  hungry  visitor  and  educates 
the  inquiring  mind  of  the  housekeeper.  The  contrast  between 
this  well-ordered  establishment,  where  the  dishes  are  properly 
prepared  and  neatly  served,  and  some  of  the  other  restaurants  of 
the  Fair  is  very  striking.  Nowhere  is  the  tired  man  or  woman 
so  well  treated  and  fed  as  in  our  model  lunch-room. 

The  Committee  of  Congresses,  of  which  Mrs.  James  P.  Eagle  is 
chairman,  has  prepared  a  feast  of  reason,  in  which  the  public  is 
invited  to  participate.  Either  in  the  morning  or  the  afternoon  of 
each  day  the  Assembly  Room  in  the  Woman's  Building  will  furnish 
an  amusement  or  lecture,  which,  like  all  the  other  matters  connected 
with  our  building,  is  given  to  the  public  gratis.  Music  has  an 
honored  place  in  our  temple.  One  afternoon  of  every  week  Mr. 
Theodore  Thomas  and  his  well-trained  orchestra  give  a  concert  of 
popular  classical  music;  it  may  be  imagined  that  there  is  little  room 
to  spare  in  the  Assembly  Hall  on  these  occasions.  Once  in  every 
two  weeks  concerts  are  given  by  amateur  musicians  from  different 
parts  of  the  country.  The  method  pursued  in  securing  the  per- 
formers is  extremely  good.  The  candidates  first  pass  an  examin- 
ation in  their  own  State,  and  then  a  second  at  Chicago  before  a 
jury  of  experts  appointed  by  Mr.  Thomas.  A  diploma  will  be 
awarded  to  the  musicians  who  take  part  in  these  amateur  concerts. 
In  this  way  the  high  standard  of  talent  desired  has  been  attained. 
Women's  musical  clubs  have  been  invited  to  participate,  and, 
thanks  to  the  energy  of  Mrs.  Francis  B.  Clarke,  chairman  of  the 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


Committee  of  Music,  and  of  Mrs.  Thomas,  who  have  had  this- 
branch  of  the  work  in  charge,  a  musical  congress  has  been  arranged 
which  promises  to  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
Exposition. 

Ceylon's  contribution  is  most  precious.  She  sends  us  not  only 
the  work  of  her  people's  hands  but  a  band  of  her  citizens.  The 
Ceylon  pavilion  has  two 
departments ;  one  repre- 
senting a  temple,  the 
other  a  resting-place 
near  the  temple.  The 
beautifully  carved  pil- 
lars and  arches  of  ebony 
are  constantly  sur- 
rounded by  a  group  of 
admirers.  The  temple  is 
adorned  by  a  painting 
of  Buddha  and  a  mar- 
riage scene  from  a  popu- 
lar romance. 

The  hospitality  of 
the  Woman's  Building! 
I  must  always  come  back 
to  that.  One  day  I  was 
given,  on  entering,  a 
fresh  jasmine  flower 
that  had  bloomed  in 
Texas ;  a  thousand  were 
distributed  that  morn- 
ing, thanks  to  the  gen- 
erosity of  the  women  of 
Galveston.  One  after- 
noon when  I  crept  into 
this  haven,  wearied  from 
the  feast  of  sight  and 
sound,  a  slender,  dusky- 
skinned  Ceylonese  offered  me  a  cup  of  fragrant  tea.  The  picturesque 
costumes,  the  refinement  and  grace  of  these  silent  servitors,  their  del- 
icate hands  and  refined,  intelligent  faces  make  a  deeper  impression 
than  the  richest  of  the  embroideries  or  the  most  artistic  of  the  jewels 
shown  in  their  pavilion.  Man  is  more  interesting  than  the  noblest 
of  his  works.  It  is  for  their  testimony  of  human  skill,  patience,  and 


EMBROIDERY.    PUPILS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  THE 
LEGION  OF  HONOR.    FRANCE. 


60 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


industry  that  we  value  the  rare  works  of  art  and  handicraft 
gathered  in  our  building.  Nowhere  in  the  Exposition  can  we  find 
so  complete  a  history  of  the  industries  of  the  human  race  as  in  the 
Woman's  Building;  beginning  with  women's  work  in  savagery 
(a  very  wonderful  collection  of  which  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Scientific 
Room)  and  ending  with  a  modern  woman's  idea  of  that  primitive 
woman  as  shown  by  Mrs.  MacMonnies  in  her  decoration.  We  thus 
see  in  one  department  the  tools  of  the  savage  woman,  and  in 

another  the  representation  of  their  use. 
Judging  by  her  handicraft,  the  primitive 
woman  worked  earnestly  and  well.  With 
here  and  there  a  few  brilliant  exceptions, 
the  work  of  modern  women  in  the  higher 
fields  of  art  has  been  less  earnest,  less 
thorough,  than  the  work  of  these  savage 
women.  The  religions  of  the  Orient, 
which  teach  that  man  only  is  capable  of 
civilization,  and  have  made  woman  man's 
slave,  are  partly  responsible  for  the  long 
period  of  triviality  in  women's  work.  The 
savage  woman  is  a  dignified  figure.  On 
her  falls  the  burden  of  weaving  and 
basket-making,  of  sowing  and  reaping,  of 
feeding  and  clothing  her  family.  The 
legacy  she  has  left  us  is  infinitely  precious 
and  touching.  Orientalism  is  responsible 
for  the  idea  that  woman  is  the  inferior 
of  man,  and  when  I  hear  women  lightly 
professing  a  belief  in  Buddhism,  I  always 
feel  like  reminding  them  that  one  of  the 
fundamental  ideas  of  that  religion  is  that 
the  female  principle  in  the  universe  is  the 
principle  of  evil.  To-day  Christianity  has 
only  just  begun,  after  nineteen  hundred  years,  to  overcome  this 
paralyzing  idea  of  the  inferiority  of  our  sex.  Fifteen  years  ago,  nay 
ten  years  ago,  I  might  almost  say  five,  the  women  artists  of  Europe 
and  of  America,  while  showing  a  great  deal  of  talent,  betrayed  a 
lack  of  power,  conscience,  and  persistence  in  their  work.  It  had 
the  qualities  of  imagination,  of  sweetness,  of  romance,  and  of  color, 
but  it  lacked  the  sterner  qualities  of  technique  which  only  the 
severest  study,  the  most  scrupulous  patience,  the  quality  which  I 
can  perhaps  best  designate  as  the  artistic  conscience,  can  give.  The 


SKETCH    FOR    WINDOW. 

MRS.  J.  B.  WESTON.  UNITED 

STATES. 


YOUNG   GIRL   BATHING.     MME.  LEON    BORTAN.*.     FRANCE. 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


old  idea  that  woman's  work  in  the  higher  fields  is  something 
phenomenal  obtained  both  with  the  critics  and  with  the  women 
workers  themselves.  To-day  the  struggle  for  bread  has  become  so 
fierce  that  no  allowance  is  made  for  sex.  We  are  at  the  dawn  of  a 
new  era,  when  woman's  labor  shall  be  judged  by  the  same  inflex- 
ible standard  of  excellence  as  man's.  Surely  we  may  be  excused 
if  we  have  shown  a  little  too  much  enthusiasm  on  this  subject,  for 
the  gain  is  an  immense  one,  not  to  woman  alone,  but  to  the  whole 
race.  There  is  no  gain  without  a  corresponding  loss.  There  is 
no  advance  in  which  something  is  not  left  behind.  In  our  country 

woman  has  always  been  a  privi- 
leged person ;  and  while  we  hold 
that  rights  are  higher  than  privi- 
leges, it  can  not  be  denied  that  it  is 
a  little  trying  to  see  those  privileges 
steadily  diminishing;  but  it  has  now 
become  a  question  of  necessity,  not 
of  choice.  The  results  of  our  pub- 
lic-school system  are  shown  in  the 
enormous  number  of  men  who  are 
fitted  for  both  the  higher  and  lower 
branches  of  intellectual  labor.  A 
few  months  ago  a  gentleman  in 
New  York  advertised  in  the  same 
paper  for  a  secretary  and  a  butler. 
Five  hundred  applicants  appeared 
for  the  secretaryship  and  two  for 
the  place  of  the  butler.  Competi- 
tion in  brain  labor  is  so  fierce,  the 
price  it  secures  so  small,  that  to-day 
a  large  proportion  of  our  artists, 
architects,  literary  and  professional  men  find  it  impossible  to  sup- 
port their  families  in  the  position  to  which  their  education  entitles 
them.  Every  year  it  is  becoming  more  expensive  to  live  the  life 
-of  cultivated  people.  The  price  of  bread  and  meat  and  coal  may 
be  reduced  as  the  demand  for  these  articles  increases,  but  the  price 
-of  the  luxuries  and  the  graces  of  life  increases  in  an  exact  ratio 
with  the  increase  of  population.  A  professional  man,  the  son  of  a 
professional  man,  is  too  often  faced  with  this  problem:  "  How  can 
I  give  my  children  as  good  an  education  as  I  myself  received,  when 
my  income  is  only  as  large  as  my  father's  was  and  the  expenses 


WATER-COLOR    PORTRAIT. 

ROSINA  EMMET  SHERWOOD. 
UNITED  STATES.    (Copyrighted.) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


63 


of  education  have  doubled?  "  The  wife,  the  sister,  or  the  daughter 
is  called  in  council.  It  is  quite  evident  to  her  that  the  man  can 
not  support  his  wife  and  his  children  as  they  should  be  sup- 
ported, and  the  family  must  either  take  a  lower  position  in  the 
social  scale,  or,  as  the  only  other  alternative,  the  women  must 
contribute  to  the  expenses  of  the  household.  It  is  this  economic 
necessity  which  has  forced  the  vast  army  of  women  workers  into 
the  higher  fields  of  labor. 

Now  that  we  have  wandered  through  the  pleasant  arcades,  the 
quiet  library,  the  busy,  energetic  Hall  of  Honor,  let  us  leave  the 
Woman's  Building  and  the  "  White  City,"  go  down  to  the  shore  of 
the  lake,  look  out  over  its  changeful  waters,  and  think.  What  does 
it  all  amount  to?  Palaces  of 
marble  and  brick  crumble  away 
and  leave  no  sign  to  show  where 
they  have  stood,  and  this  mock- 
marble  city  is  as  evanescent  as 
a  dream.  With  that  curious 
commercial  sense  which  is  per- 
haps our  most  salient  national 
characteristic,  many  hundreds 
of  people  have  asked  the  same 
question:  "Does  it  pay?"  Of 
no  department  in  the  whole  Ex- 
position has  there  been  so  much 
doubt  expressed  on  this  point  as 
of  the  Woman's  Building.  It  has 
had  its  enemies  from  the  very 
hour  of  its  inception ;  honest  and 
dishonest  enemies.  It  is  only  the  former  with  which  we  must  concern 
ourselves.  These  have  pointed  out  the  very  great  outlay  of  time, 
strength,  and  money  which  have  gone  to  make  up  the  harmonious 
whole;  they  have  pointed  out  that  a  great  number  of  the  best  women 
workers  have  elected  to  exhibit  the  fruits  of  their  labor  side  by 
side  with  that  of  their  brothers.  These  critics  ask:  "  Is  it  not  unfair 
to  show  as  women's  work  what  is  only  a  partial  representation  of 
it?  "  The  answer  to  this  objection  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  building 
is  among  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  Fair.  It  has  never 
undertaken  to  show  all,  or  half,  that  woman  is  doing.  Such  an 
exhibit  would  be  impossible,  even  were  it  housed  in  so  vast  a 
structure  as  the  Palace  of  the  Liberal  Arts.  From  the  first,  the 
idea  has  been  held  by  those  in  authority  that  the  building's  mission 


"THE    WOOD    DOVE." 
MARY  HALLOCK  FOOTE.  UNITED  STATES. 
(By  permission  of  the  Century  Company- 
Copyrighted.) 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


was  more  moral  than 
material.  It  was  de- 
signed to  represent 
chiefly  that  part  of 
woman's  labor  which 
finds  no  place  in  the 
other  departments  of 
the  Fair.  Perhaps  the 
most  valuable  thing  it 
has  accomplished  is 
the  bringing  together 
of  women  from  the 
most  distant  parts  of 
^the  world.  Who  can 
foretell  how  potent  an 
influence  for  the  unity 
of  the  nations  may 
spring  from  this  meet- 
ing of  the  Slav  and  the 
Teuton,  the  Celt  and 
the  Mongol,  the  Gaul 
and  the  Latin,  the 
Greek  and  the  Anglo- 
Saxon?  From  the  days 
of  Helen,  women  have 
been  accounted  a  cause 
for  strife  between  men 
and  nations.  "Cherc/tez 
la  femme"  is  the  old 
saying  whenever  there 
is  trouble  afoot.  If 
this  is  true,  nothing 
can  be  so  important 
for  the  peace  of  the 
world  as  that  these 
prime  causes  of  differ- 
ence  among  men 
should  become  friends 
and  allies.  If  the  three 
goddesses  had  handed 
back  the  apple  to  Paris 
and  said  "  Thank  you," 


SKETCH    FOR    WINDOW. 
K.  EMMET,  UNITED  STATES.    (Copyrighted.) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  65 

a  mighty  pother  of  arms  might  have  been  saved  and  the  greatest 
poem  in  the  world  lost.  In  our  modern  contest,  each  participant 
strives  not  to  take  from  but  to  give  to  her  sisters  the  palm.  In 
many  of  the  other  departments  of  the  Fair  there  has  been  an  infinite 
amount  of  political  friction.  One  country  will  not  exhibit  because 
our  duties  are  unjust,  another  will  put  itself  to  very  little  trouble 
for  us  because  it  has  so  little  commercial  relation  with  our  own. 
We  find  nothing  of  this  in  the  Woman's  Building.  We  find  a 
singleness  of  purpose  which  is  truly  impressive.  The  queens  of 
England,  of  Spain,  and  of  Italy  take  part  in  our  enterprise;  the 
empresses  of  Japan  and  of  Russia  testify  their  interest;  the  wife  of 
the  president  of  the  French  Republic  lends  us  her  countenance, 
and  the  great  ladies  of  Germany,  Belgium,  Sweden,  Norway,  Den- 
mark, Russia,  Austria,  and  all  the  other  nations  represented  in 
our  building  have  put  their  hands  to  our  work. 

The  Queen  of  England,  her  daughters,  and  her  granddaughters 
send  us  their  handiwork.  Not  only  have  the  great  ladies  lent  us 
their  countenance,  but  the  work-women  all  over  the  world  have 
helped  to  enrich  our  building.  In  the  Spanish  section  we  notice 
the  neatly  rolled  cigarettes  of  the  cigarette-makers  and  the  nets  of 
the  fisher-wives  lying  near  the  rich  embroideries  of  the  nuns,  the 
exquisite  missals  from  the  convent  schools,  the  paintings  and  writ- 
ings of  royal  amateurs.  The  insane  women  of  a  Pennsylvania 
almshouse  make  a  contribution  of  neatly  embroidered  linen 
to  our  applied  arts.  The  little  children  of  the  charity  schools 
of  Paris  send  us  drawings  and  maps  of  so  exquisite  a  workmanship 
that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  the  signatures,  "  Rachel,  aged  13," 
and  "  Helene,  aged  14,"  belong  to  their  authors. 

Many  lessons  may  be  learned  at  the  World's  Fair,  and  many 
in  the  Woman's  Building;  the  most  important  of  these  is  the  unity 
of  human  interests.  No  man  or  woman  who  has  truly  entered  into 
the  life  of  the  White  City,  which  is  not  Chicago's,  nor  the  United 
States',  nor  the  Americas',  but  the  world's  city,  can  ever  again  be 
satisfied  with  mere  city  or  State  citizenship.  In  this  miniature 
world  we  have  tasted  world's  citizenship,  we  have  learned  that 
nothing  that  is  not  for  the  good  of  humanity  at  large  can  benefit 

us  or  our  country. 

MAUD  HOWE  ELLIOTT. 


WOMAN  IN  ART. 

NOT  unreasonable  and  as  capable  of  proof  as  any  other  legend 
about  the  matter  is  this,  that  the  first  artist  was  not  he  who 
"  stayed  by  the  tents  with  the  women;"  neither  Cleanthes, 
nor  Telephanes,  but  rather  was  it  some  happy  mother,  dreaming 
•dreams  by  a  river,  watching  the  shadows  of  leaves  and  flowers  come 
and  go,  making  garments  for  her  man-child,  her  desire  being  to  her 
lord.  And  the  shadows  of  the  leaves  and  flowers  fell  upon  the 
garments,  and  then  the  artist-soul  was  born,  and  designed  quaint 
patterns  from  them  to  beautify  the  robe.  Penelope  drew  her  own 
•designs  upon  the  shroud  she  broidered  for  old  Laertes,  and  the  naive 
drawing  of  the  Bayeux  tapestry  was  from  Queen  Mathilde's  unac- 
customed hand,  for  the  men  had  gone  forth  to  do  battle. 

Ariosto's  much-quoted  lines,  "  Women  have  risen  to  high  excel- 
lence in  every  art  whereto  they  give  their  care,"  is  proven  in  a 
long  line  of  illustrious  women  who  have  been  artists,  beginning 
with  Helena,  daughter  of  Timon  of  Egypt,  and  continuing  to  our 
own  Mary  Cassatt. 

From  the  beginning  there  have  always  been  those  who  have 
stepped  from  out  the  ranks  of  women  and  stood  beside  the  men. 

It  is  no  new  thing  that  they  should  teach,  or  paint,  or  write; 
and  if  as  yet  in  art  there  are  none  who  are  equal  with  the  masters, 
they  stand  immediately  behind,  unafraid,  biding  their  time,  for  "  art 
happens,"  and  one  day  Apollo  will  find  one  of  our  own  sex  to  smile 
upon,  and  these  will  walk  with  the  chosen  one,  who  will  be  of  the 
few  who  live  for  all  time. 

It  is  the  fashion  to  deny  women  originality.  Art  is  but  an 
imitation,  and  among  the  great  men  of  our  time,  who  are  they 
whose  inspiration  is  far  to  seek?  It  is  a  long  time  ago  since  the 
wisest  man  said: 

"  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun." 

Among  the  ancients,  Pliny  mentions  many  women  painters  who 
•were  famous. 

Helena,  daughter  of  Timon  of  Egypt,  was  living  in  the  year 

(67) 


68  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

400  B.  C.     Of  her  only  recorded  work,  "  The  Battle  of  Issus,"  there 
is  a  mosaic  reproduction  at  Naples. 

Anaxandra,  daughter  of  Nealces  of  Cicyon,  lived  in  Egypt, 
200  B.  C. 

Aristarette  was  the  daughter  and  pupil  of  Nearchus.  She  was 
famed  for  her  portrait  of  Esculapius. 

Of  the  women  of  our  own  era,  the  earliest  of  whom  we  have  knowl- 
edge is  Margareta  Van  Eyck,  born  in  1370,  sister  and  fellow-worker 
of  the  master  Van  Eyck;  and  somewhere  it  is  written  how  she 
helped  to  perfect  the  method  of  painting  with  oils.  Of  her  work 
there  is  here  and  there  in  the  world  somewhat  for  the  curious 
expert  to  discover.  In  the  National  Gallery  of  London  we  may 
see  a  Madonna  and  Child  by  Margareta,  and,  most  interesting  of 
all,  the  famous  Bedford  Missal,  now  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationals 
at  Paris. 

Among  the  women  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  we  have  Saint  Catherine  of  Bologna,  the  beauty  of  whose 
life  was  equaled  by  the  beauty  of  her  missal  painting,  and  Maria  de 
Abarca,  a  distinguished  portrait  painter,  even  at  a  time  when  the 
Master  of  Madrid  raised  Spanish  art  to  its  highest. 

Sophonisba  Angosciolo  of  Cremona  was  another  celebrated 
portrait  and  genre  painter.  She  was  invited  to  Spain  by  Philip  II., 
the  great  art  patron  of  his  time.  She  painted  the  portrait  of  Queen 
Isabella  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  Pius  IV.,  to  whom  the  king 
presented  it.  Her  pictures  are  to  be  found  in  many  collections, 
and  her  portraits  of  herself  show  her  to  have  been  both  beautiful 
and  clever. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  Artemisia  Gentileschi,  Catherine 
Ginassi,  Paladini,  Teodora  Danti,  Coriolano,  Veronica  Fontana, 
Suor  Plantilla  Nelli  (whom  Vasari  extols),  Diana  Ghisi,  Isabella 
Parasole,  Agnese  Dolci  (daughter  of  Carlo  Dolci),  and  Elizabetta 
Sirani,  whose  beautiful  Madonna  and  Child  is  one  of  the  treasures- 
of  the  gallery  at  Bologna. 

Looking  from  the  south  to  the  north,  we  find  Sabina  Stienbach. 
What  a  proud  moment  it  must  have  been  for  her  when  the  master 
Diirer  purchased  from  her  a  plattlein  illuminirt,  ein  salvator — 
"which  was  a  wonder." 

Maria  Merian  was  also  a  German.  Her  miniatures  have  seldom 
been  equaled  for  beauty  and  delicacy  of  color.  In  the  British 
Museum  are  two  volumes  containing  her  drawings  of  insects  and 
plants,  which  were  purchased  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane  for  five  guineas 
a  drawing. 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 
STATUE  OF   COLUMBUS   AT  THE   EASTERN    ENTRANCE   OF   THE  ADMINISTRATION    BUILDING. 
JOINT  WORK  OF  Miss  MARY  T.  LAWRENCE  AND  MR.  ST.  GAUDENS. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


71 


Then  there  was  Anne  Killegrew,  of  whom  Dryden  wrote  she — 

*    *    "  perfectly  could  represent 
The  shape,  the  face  with  every  lineament." 

She  was  also— 

"  A  grace  for  beauty,  a  muse  for  wit." 

Caroline  Watson's  engravings  are  very  fine,  and  compare  favor- 
ably with  her  contemporary,  Bartolozzi's. 

Madam  Vigee-Lebrun's  portraits  are  all  charming,  some  of  them 
great,  and,  as  some  one  has  recently  said,  "preserve  to  us  the 
thoughts  and  aspirations  of  the  women  of  1775-1789." 

Angelica  Kauffman — Miss  Angel,  as  the  English  called  her — 
is  familiar  to  all  the  world.  Every  honor  that  it  was  possible  to 


SUGGESTION   FOR  REREDOS.    MRS.  KENYON  Cox.  UNITED  STATES. 

bestow  upon  an  artist  was  hers.  From  praising  her  work  too  much 
the  world  has  come  to  praising  it  too  little,  but  it  is  certain  that  for 
her  time  her  pictures  were  remarkable.  Her  etchings  are  consid- 
ered very  fine,  and  are  much  sought  after. 

It  is  impossible  in  so  little  space  to  tell  of  all  the  famous  women 
painters  and  their  achievements — women  whose  works  are  precious 
to  the  cognoscenti,  if  not  household  words  to  "  the  one  who  wanders 
about." 

One  of  the  many  interesting  exhibits  in  the  Woman's  Building 
is  a  comprehensive  collection  of  etchings  and  engravings.  It 
includes  examples  of  the  earliest  work  of  women  in  this  field, 
beginning  with  that  of  Marie  di  Medicis  and  Diana  Ghisi,  and 
ending  with  the  admirable  productions  of  Caroline  Watson,  Mary 
Cassatt,  Louise  Abbema,  Mrs.  Moran,  Mrs.  Getcher,  and  Mme. 
Bracquemond. 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


Women  painters  have  always  excelled  in  portraiture,  certainly 
the  most  difficult,  if  not  the  highest,  branch  of  art.  It  is  an  odd 
thing  too  that  art  finds  its  best  expression  now  in  the  north, 
among  the  women  as  among  the  men.  To  go  as  far  north  as 
possible,  the  number  of  Swedish  and  Norwegian  women  who  have 
won  honors  in  France  far  outranks  that  of  any  other  nation. 

No  matter  how  much  one  claims  for  the  women  who  have  lived, 
for  the  women  who  now  live  one  can  claim  more.  Rosa  Bonheur 

has  painted  pictures  which 
entitle  her  to  the  high 
position  which  she  occu- 
pies. Marie  Cazin,  in  both 
sculpture  and  painting, 
has  achieved  high  distinc- 
tion. Virginie  Demont- 
Breton  is  hardly  less  dis- 
tinguished in  art  than  her 
illustrious  father.  A  Ger- 
man, Dora  Hitz,  is  found 
worthy  to  be  a  member  of 
the  fastidious  "  Champ-de- 
Mars,"  while  Alix  d'Anet- 
han,  a  Belgian,  is  also  a 
member  of  this  exacting 
society.  Some  of  the  best 
work  in  the  last  exhibition 
of  this  same  Societe  Nation- 
ale  was  contributed  by 
Marie  Breslau,  a  Swiss,  a 
member  of  the  society 
from  the  time  of  its  or- 
ganization in  1890. 

A  famous  Danish  woman 
is  Anna  Archer.  Emma  Lowstadt  Chadwick  is  a  Swede  whom  we 
wish  we  might  claim,  since  she  is  the  wife  of  an  American.  Anna 
Bilinska  is  a  Pole.* 

In  England  there  are  many  women  painters  who  rank  quite 
above  the  average  Englishman.  Mrs.  Stanhope  Forbes,  whom  we 
would  also  like  to  claim,  since  she  began  her  art  career  in  the 
schools  of  the  New  York  Art  League,  paints  more  beautiful  pict- 

*  An  interesting  picture  by  that  remarkable  young  Russian,  Marie  Bashkirtseff, 
may  be  seen  among  the  French  pictures  in  the  Woman's  Building. — [ED.] 


PORTRAIT   SKETCH. 
ALLEGRA  EGGLESTONE.  UNITED  STATES. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


73 


ures  than  those  of  her  very  talented  husband,  while  technically 
her  work  is  as  good  as  his. 

But  we  would  give  most  praise  to  the  work  of  our  own  women, 
for  to  their  Anglo-Saxon  temperament  they  add  a  Gaelic  ability. 


OIL  PAINTING— "MORNING   PRAYER."    C.  E.  FISCHER.    GERMANY. 

To-day  the  American  woman  enters  every  art  and  every  industry, 
and  enters  it  successfully. 

Some  time  ago  a  master  of  the  Art  Students'  League  of  New 
York,  on  being  questioned  as  to  whether  women  students  did  good 
work,  said  the  average  of  excellence  among  the  women  was  much 


74  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

higher  than  among  the  men;  that  he  was  continually  being  sur- 
prised by  their  perseverance  and  originality.  This  might  mean 
little,  since  woman  is  quicker  to  "  arrive,"  but  it  shows  that  at  any 
rate  her  spirit  is  modern  and  diligent. 

In  France  the  first  women  to  enter  a  life-class  with  men  were 
two  Americans,  and  at  the  time,  though  it  caused  much  talk,  they 
were  admired  for  it.  They  held  that  if  they  were  to  compete  with 


OIL  PAINTING— "MARS  AND   VENUS."    POPPE  LuoERiTZ.    GERMANY. 

men,  they  must  have  the  same  advantages;  they  must  work  with 
them,  be  subject  to  their  criticism,  treated  as  comrades;  and  they 
were.  They  held  their  own  and  wore  "unspotted  raiment." 

Two  women  have  been  chosen  to  paint  each  a  very  important 
decoration  for  the  Woman's  Building  at  Chicago — Miss  Cassatt  and 
Mrs.  MacMonnies.  Miss  Cassatt  is  easily  the  best  of  our  women 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  75 

painters.  Her  work  is  probably  better  known  to  those  intimately 
connected  with  art  than  to  the  general  public.  She  is  of  the 
school  of  Degas,  Whistler,  and  Monet,  and  holds  that  a  ballet- 
girl  by  Degas  may  be  as  religious  as  a  saint  by  Puvis  de  Chavannes. 
She  would  call  Degas  master,  but  that  her  manner  of  expres- 
sion has  been  arrived  at  independently  of  him.  A  set  of  her 
etchings  has  been  purchased  for  the  Luxembourg,  and  the 
French  Government  invited  her  to  present  it  with  a  picture,  an 
honor  which  falls  to  few,  and  which  it  was  characteristic  of 
Miss  Cassatt  to  decline.  Her  "  Essais  Japonais  "  are  what  their 
title  indicates,  and  are  a  revelation  of  strong  line  and  exquisite 


OIL  PAINTING— "DEATH   OF   MIGNON."    ADRIENNE  POTTING.  AUSTRIA. 

color.  Her  decoration  in  Chicago  will  no  doubt  be  caviar  to  those 
who  may  not  see  the  religion  in  Degas,  but  to  the  catholic  lover 
of  art  it  appeals  strongly. 

Mrs.  MacMonnies  is  a  painter  with  a  delightful  color  sense.  It 
might  seem  rash  that  so  young  a  painter  should  have  been  given, 
and  that  she  should  undertake,  so  grave  a  work.  The  decoration, 
which  is  sixty  feet  long,  has  been  carried  to  a  successful  completion, 


76  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

and  proves  that  the  commendation  she  received  from  such  men  as 
Puvis  de  Chavannes  and  Cazin  was  not  undeserved. 

The  only  picture  by  a  woman  ever  purchased  by  the  trustees  of 
the  Chantry  Bequest  Fund  for  the  South  Kensington  Museum  was 
painted  by  an  American,  Mrs.  Anna  Lea  Merritt,  and  it  may  be 
interesting  to  know  that  the  oil  and  water-color  copies  of  Turner's 
pictures  given  to  the  students  of  the  South  Kensington  schools  to 
•copy  from  are  by  May  Alcott  Nierken,  an  American  who  died 
in  1879.* 

At  the  last  annual  exhibition  of  the  Water  Color  Society  in  New 
York  a  woman,  Sara  C.  Sears,  was  given,  for  the  first  time,  the 
prize  for  the  best  picture.  The  justness  of  the  award  was  apparent 
to  all. 

To  a  woman  should  have  been  given,  if  justice  were  unalterable, 
not  only  the  prize  for  the  best  picture  by  a  woman,  but  also  the 
prize  for  the  best  picture,  irrespective  of  sex,  seen  at  the  recent  exhi- 
bition of  the  New  York  Academy. 

In  the  short  space  allotted  to  woman  in  art,  it  is  impossible  to 
mention  even  a  few  of  the  best  of  our  women  artists  without  seem- 
ing invidious,  there  are  among  us  so  many  women  artists  whose 
work  is  serious  and  fine.  We  prefer  that  they  should  speak  for 
themselves,  as  surely  they  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  in  Chicago. 

To  that  critic  who  is  to  come,  when  the  dragon  of  bad  art 
{"  which  is  the  Devil  and  Satan  ")  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years, 
"  and  a  seal  is  set  upon  him  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no 
more,"  and  the  millennium  of  great  American  art  is  come,  we  com- 
mend our  women  artists,  for  no  small  part  will  they  contribute ; 
and  we  hope  the  dawn  of  that  great  day  will  be  in  Chicago. 

S.  T.  HALLOWELL. 

*  Mrs.  Nierken  was  the  sister  of  Louisa  Alcott,  and  the  original  of  the  character 
of  Beth  in  "  Little  Women." 


fed  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 

THE    WESTERN   FACADE   OF  THE   ELECTRICITY   BUILDING, 

LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  NORTH. 


APPLIED    ARTS    IN    THE    WOMAN'S    BUILDING. 

A  NOTICE  of  the  Applied  Arts  in  the  Woman's  Building  must 
begin  with  the  specimens  of  antique  art  which  belong  to  the 
collections  of  different  countries  in  what  is  called  the 
Foreign  Section — exhibits  which  comprise  the  arts  of  embroidery, 
fan-painting,  jewelry,  silverware,  and  the  exclusively  feminine 
art  of  lace-making. 

The  collection  of  Queen  Margherita  covers  not  only  the  long 
history  of  the  lace-making  art  of  Italy,  but  that  of  all  lace-making 
countries  as  well,  while  in  other  foreign  exhibits  are  found  eccle- 
siastical and  antique  embroideries  of  all  nations,  treasures  of  all 
countries,  centuries,  epochs,  and  schools.  Not  gleanings,  but  selec- 
tions from  the  precious  arts  of  all  countries  are  here,  since  among 
these  it  is  always  the  most  valuable,  the  costliest,  the  most  difficult 
of  accomplishment,  which  receives  the  care  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions, and  survives  for  the  inspiration,  guidance,  and  standard  of 
mankind.  It  is  wonderful  that  such  treasures,  under  even  the  most 
careful  convoyance,  should  have  floated  down  the  centuries  and 
been  allowed  to  drift  to  a  country  so  far  removed  and  undreamed  of 
when  some  of  them  were  created. 

But  it  is  not  alone  from  foreign  countries  that  these  riches  are 
gathered.  An  American  collection,  owned  and  loaned  by  citizens 
of  New  York,  and  collected  by  the  New  York  State  Board  of 
Women  Managers,  is  shown  in  the  west  gallery  of  the  Rotunda.  It 
does  not  by  any  means  represent  the  wealth  of  curios  and  works  of 
art  possessed  in  this  country,  or  even  in  New  York  City  alone,  but 
enough  is  shown  to  illustrate  the  very  best  periods  of  creative  art, 
and  to  prove  that  if  these  private  treasures  could  be  occasionally 
gathered  into  public  exhibitions,  students  and  artists  need  not 
cross  the  great  barrier  of  the  sea  to  study  examples  of  ancient 
knowledge  and  skill. 

In  passing  from  the  best  work  of  the  past  to  that  of  to-day,  and 
especially  to  that  which  is  exclusively  the  work  of  the  women  of 
to-day,  we  must  remember  that,  as  far  as  practice  is  concerned,  we 
are  considering  a  new  birth,  a  revival  of  ancient  handcrafts,  instead 

(79) 


WALL  PANEL.    ROYAL  SCHOOL  OF  ART  EMBROIDERY,  VIENNA.    AUSTRIA.. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  81 

of  a  continuous  exercise  of  them;  and  not  only  a  revival,  but  an 
adaptation  of  them  to  new  circumstances.  Some  of  these  arts  had 
been  practically  dead  for  a  hundred  years.  This  consideration, 
while  accounting  for  less  exact  execution,  adds  interest  to  the  sub- 
ject in  showing  the  greater  breadth  given  to  every  form  of  art  by 
the  modern  diffusion  of  wealth,  and  possible  gratification  of  taste  in 
the  individual.  While  the  variety  of  direction  is  narrowed  by  the 
exhibits  being  exclusively  the  work  of  women,  enough  in  all  lines 
is  shown  to  cause  surprise  even  in  this  particular;  since  few  are 
aware  how  much  artistic  labor  is  performed  by  women  in  the  new 
directions  of  designing,  cutting,  leading,  and  painting  of  stained 
glass,  of  designs  for  book-making,  both  covers  and  illustrations;  of 
designs  for  textiles  and  wall-hangings,  drawing  and  modeling  for 
silver-work,  and  in  many  other  directions  absolutely  new  to  women. 
This  is  seen  not  only  in  the  American  Section,  but  in  those  of 
England,  France,  and  Germany. 

Those  who  believe  in  the  application  of  the  broadest  and  most 
thorough  art-knowledge  to  mechanical  processes  have  looked  for- 
ward with  apprehension  to  a  collection  of  the  work  of  women 
offered  for  competition  and  for  the  inspection  of  an  art-loving  world. 

The  exhibits  of  the  Woman's  Building  are,  however,  entirely 
reassuring,  and  go  to  show,  not  only  that  art  is  a  heritage  common 
to  both  man  and  woman,  but  that  both  general  and  particular  study 
have  gone  to  the  accomplishment  of  fine  results.  In  examples  of 
stained  glass  it  is  especially  noticeable  that  simplicity  and  strength 
characterize  the  exhibits,  and  that  the  necessities  and  advantages 
of  the  art  are  well  understood.  Very  few  of  the  examples  suggest 
the  amateur  gloss  of  the  woman  painter;  in  fact  the  most  of  it 
shows  the  result  of  careful  study  in  a  special  direction,  and  an 
intention  of  mastery  of  the  art  as  a  profession.  Certainly  no  one 
looking  at  some  of  these  beautiful  examples  would  characterize 
them  as  effeminate  or  weak.  They  are  shown  in  a  pavilion  in  the 
American  Section,  as  well  as  in  the  Assembly  Room,  the  California 
Room,  and  the  Record  rooms. 

The  embroidery  exhibited  by  the  Societies  of  Decorative  Art 
.and  the  Exchanges  from  many  of  our  cities  is  of  so  high  an  order, 
that  even  those  most  familiar  with  the  subject  can  hardly  fail  to  be 
surprised  with  the  very  large  amount  of  first-rate  work  exposed. 
There  is  no  single  specimen  of  embroidery  which  proves  more  con- 
clusively that  needlework  is  a  form  of  artistic  expression  than  the 
very  remarkable  piece  of  ecclesiastical  embroidery,  from  that 
wonderful  design  of  William  Blake's,  illustrating  the  lines:  "  When 


82 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
joy."  The  design  was  photographed  directly  from  the  etching  upon 
the  linen,  the  entire  surface  of  which  is  covered  with  Kensington 
stitchery  of  the  most  curious  blending.  The  picture  is  one  of  Blake's 
most  beautiful  creations.  The  four  figures  with  raised  arms,  typify- 
ing the  stars,  are  partially  clad  in  a  drapery  which  seems  to  grow 
from  the  body  as  a  garment  of  flesh.  This  curious  idea  is  rendered 
even  more  fully  apparent  in  the  embroidery  than  in  the  original  etch- 
ing, as  the  color  helps  to  produce  this  very  original  effect.  The  devo- 
tional spirit  of  the  artist  has  been  perfectly  preserved,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  this  piece  of  needlework  has  an  inspirational  quality. 


EMBROIDERED  LANDSCAPE-"APPLE  BLOSSOM  TIME."    A.  J.  PETERS.  UNITED  STATES. 

The  beginning  of  the  modern  American  school  of  needlework 
dates  from  the  exhibit  of  the  Kensington  school  at  our  Centennial, 
seventeen  years  ago.  Before  that  time,  it  can  not  be  said  to 
have  had  a  truly  national  existence.  To-day  the  American  school 
stands  foremost  in  originality  of  design,  and  in  breadth  of  thought 
and  method.  Certain  processes  which  belong  to  the  oldest  ori- 
ental embroidery,  such  as  a  combination  of  applique  and  embroid- 
ery, which  were  ignored  by  the  English  school  as  being  irregular, 
have  been  adopted  by  individuals  among  us,  and  have  produced 
most  wonderfully  artistic  results.  A  noticeable  feature  of  the 
American  school  is  that  its  followers  seize  upon  every  means  of 
expression,  and  use  the  common  domestic  darning  stitch,  or  any 


REPRODUCTION    OF   A    LOUIS    XV.   WINDOW. 

EXECUTED  FOR  PRESIDENT  CARNOT.    EMBROIDERED  BY  MLLE.  BERTHE  FLOURY,  MLLE. 
EUGENIE  FRITMAN,  MME.  DUBOR.    FRANCE. 


84 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


other  needlework  stitch,  to  produce  a  desired  effect;  very  much  as 
a  sculptor  may  pick  up  and  use  any  bit  of  wood,  or  his  own  thumb, 
as  a  modeling  tool,  rather  than  the  neatly  turned  instruments  of 
his  trade. 

The  color  sense  which  distinguishes  our  people  is  found  as 
much  in  the  embroiderers  as  with  the  painters.  Both  the  English 
and  our  own  embroiderers  surpass  the  European  and  the  orientals  in 
this  respect.  As  far  as  pure  technique  goes,  the  Turkish  Com- 
passionate Fund  shows  the  best  work  exhibited.  The  workers 

have  the  advantage  of 
the  inherited  skill, 
which  surpasses  all 
other,  and  are  directed 
in  the  use  of  color  by 
English  taste.  Sweden 
sends  us  some  fine  ex- 
amples, and  France 
shows  admirable  work, 
but  it  is  among  our  own 
women  that  we  find  the 
highest  grade  of  em- 
broidery. The  produc- 
tions of  the  Americans 
are  scholarly,  but  not 
academic.  They  are 
full  of  fresh  originality, 
and  the  motto  of  our 
needlewomen  seems  to 
be  that  they  must  use 
the  rules  that  have  here- 
tofore governed  their  art,  but  that  they  must  not  be  hampered 
by  them  in  their  own  fresh,  spontaneous  growth. 

In  the  great  American  revival  of  stained  glass,  our  women  are 
doing  much  creditable  work.  Many  of  the  best  firms,  including 
that  of  Tiffany,  employ  women  designers,  who  have  met  with  very 
great  success.  Fifteen  years  ago,  no  American  manufacturer 
thought  of  buying  an  American  design  for  his  carpet,  or  wall- 
paper, or  textile.  The  usual  thing  to  do  was  to  buy  a  yard  of 
French  or  English  material,  and  reproduce  its  color  and  design. 
To-day  the  manufacturers  all  agree  that  the  most  popular  designs 
they  can  furnish  are  made  by  our  native  designers,  who  are,  to  a 
very  large  extent,  women.  In  the  exhibit  of  the  Pratt  Institute, 


DESIGN    FOR    CARPET. 
LUCY  W.  VALENTINE.  UNITED  STATES. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


85 


very  fine  work  in  the  designs  of  wall-paper  and  silk  may  be  seen. 
Several  of  these  have  won  prizes.  This  exhibit  is  well  worth 
studying,  for,  while  this  institute  is  in  its  first  year,  many  of  its 
students  are  among  our  most  skillful  young  designers. 

In    the    exhibits    of    the    various    American    ceramic    clubs, 
societies,   and   leagues,   the   excellence   of  technique,   as  well   as 
the    variety    and    amount    of    work   in   this  branch   of  art,   is  a 
genuine  surprise.    It 
is  very  rich  in  porce- 
lains,    following 
Sevre  and  Dresden 
styles,  but  curiously 
lacking  in  the  dash 
and  freedom  of  mod- 
ern    French    china 
painting.       This 
seems     to     indicate 
that     painters     pos- 
sessing    force    and 
originality  find  more 
congenial  directions 
for     their     efforts. 
Exact  skill,  fineness 
of     execution,     and 
clever  specimens  of 
miniature  art  are  far 
in  excess  of  instances 
of    color     effect    or 
original  design,  and 
there    is   as  yet  no 
foreshadowing  of  a 
distinctively  Ameri- 
can school  of  china 
decoration.     This  is 
the     more     remark- 
able in   the  face  of 
the   evident  popularity   of  the   art,  and  the   wide   extent   of  its 
practice. 

There  are  exquisitely  painted  specimens  which  come  from 
places  remote  from  centers  of  art,  places  where  the  student  and 
artist  must  depend  for  educational  influences  entirely  upon  books 
or  art  publications.  This  undoubtedly  retards  the  development 


DESIGN    FOR    WALL    PAPER. 
ANNA  LEE,  UNITED  STATES. 


86 


ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 


resulting  from   emulation,   while   it    fosters  the   excellencies    of 
technique. 

American  china  decoration  is  not  as  wide  in  its  scope  as  either 
the  modern  French  or  English  schools,  and  certainly  has  not  given 
us  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect  from  so  much  and  such  excellent 
practice,  namely,  a  development  of  design  and  method  which  shall 
be  as  characteristic  of  American  thought  as  is  shown  in  manufact- 
ure of  silver  and  other  metals,  in  embroideries,  in  illustration  of 
literature,  in  design  for  textiles  and  wall-hangings,  and  in  other 


FANS.    EXHIBITED  BY  E.  BUISSOT.    FRANCE. 

directions  of  applied  art.  The  one  original  development  is  that  of 
the  Rookwood  pottery,  exquisite  specimens  of  which  are  to  be  seen 
in  the  Cincinnati  Room.  The  glazes  and  colors,  the  lustrousness, 
the  almost  iridescent  shadings  place  this  ware  very  high  in  the 
history  of  modern  production. 

In  book-covers  and  illustrations  the  largest  number  belongs  to 
the  exhibit  of  the  applied  arts  of  New  York,  Boston,  and  Phila- 
delphia. It  is  noticeable  and  delightful  that  some  of  the  book- 
covers  exhibited  are  not  merely  copies  or  imitations  of  those  of 
any  style  or  period  preeminent  in  the  art  of  book-binding,  but, 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


87 


while  showing  a  wide  knowledge  of  previous  accomplishments  in 
this  line,  and  a  familiarity  with  the  old  masters  of  the  art,  there 
is  often  a  clever  reference  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  book 
in  the  decorative  treatment  of  the  cover.  For  instance,  the 
attractive  outside  of  a  book  called  "A  Girl's  Life  Eighty  Years 
Ago  "  shows  the  design  and  method  of  a  sampler  of  the  same  period, 
lettering  and  borders  appearing  in  the  small  block-work  of  the 
cross-stitch  in  the  red  and  black  sewing-silks  peculiar  to  sampler 
work. 

There  are  many  others  which  illustrate  very  clearly  the  point 
that  thought  should  be  given  not  only  to  the  art  of  the  cover,  but 
to  its  connection  with  the 
book  itself,  and  indicate 
that  the  library  of  modern 
books  will  soon  be  more 
interesting  from  the  out- 
side than  even  the  most 
classic  use  of  leather  and 
tooling  could  make  it.  An 
appropriate  cover  is  like  an 
open  door  into  a  pleasant 
interior,  or  like  the  skin  of 
fruit  which  indicates  its 
kind,  as  the  color  of  the 
orange  invites  one  to  the 
flavor  of  the  orange. 

But  while  book-covers 
are  so  interesting  from  a 
book-lover's  point  of  view, 
the  large  collection  of  book  illustrations  appeal  to  book-lovers 
and  lovers  of  all  good  art.  Many  prominent  publishers  have  con- 
tributed to  this  collection,  and  illustrations  are  shown  in  black 
and  white,  in  water-colors,  and  in  pen-drawings  for  many  recent 
publications. 

There  is  enough  here  to  show  more  than  the  average  excellence 
of  the  art  of  illustration  as  it  stands  to-day,  not  only  in  America 
but  in  all  countries.  There  is  no  one  great  work  which  is  like  a 
monument  placed  at  the  highest  point  the  art  has  reached,  but 
there  are  many  single  pictures  which  are  delightful,  showing  not 
only  power  of  characterization  and  expression  of  sentiment,  but 
admirable  composition  and  draughtsmanship. 

CANDACE  WHEELER. 


DRAGON   PLATE. 
PARSONS  &  BROWN.    UNITED  STATES. 


WATER-COLOR  —  DECORATIVE    PANEL.     MADELAINE   LEMAIRE.     FRANCE. 


WOMEN    ILLUSTRATORS. 


CONTRASTING  the  Columbian  Exposition  witn  our  Centen- 
nial, the  thoughtful  observer  is  impressed  with  the  great 
advance  in  art  sentiment,  in  all  phases  of  its   expression, 
since  that  time. 

Women  have  not  been  left  behind  in  the  march  of  events,  and 
that  their  advance  along  the  lines  of  progress  and  culture  has  been 
phenomenal  is  the  only  conclusion  that  can  be  arrived  at  after 

studying  the  subject.  If  this 
be  true,  speaking  generally 
— and  the  most  casual  ob- 
server will  hardly  deny  the 
statement — it  is  particularly 
pertinent  in  regard  to  their 
hold  on  art. 

There  is  no  branch  of 
art  that  shows  more  conclu- 
sively the  higher  standards 
demanded  from  its  devotees 
among  all  classes  of  peo- 
ple than  illustration.  About 
twenty  years  ago,  we  could 
count  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand  all  the  women  seriously  engaged  in 
this  work ;  nor  was  it  until  the  advent  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hallock  Foote  in 
the  field,  as  the  illustrator  of  her  own  charming  stories,  that  illus- 
tration seemed  to  present  an  opening  for  women.  Having  obtained 
an  entering  wedge,  they  were  not  long  in  availing  themselves  of 
their  opportunity,  and  now  it  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  any 
woman  possessing  the  requisite  talent,  training,  and  practical  expe- 
rience in  working  for  reproduction,  is  assured  a  profitable  return 
for  her  labor.  The  feminine  mind  has  ceased  to  view  a  profes- 
sional career  as  a  thing  of  a  few  years  only,  a  mere  incident  in  her 
life  to  bridge  over  some  financial  crisis,  or  gratify  a  whim;  nor  is 
she  following  art  in  a  dilettante  spirit.  She  enters  our  schools  and 


"THE    LETTER    OF    RESIGNATION." 

MARY  HALLOCK  FOOTE,  UNITED  STATES. 

By  permission  of   the  Century  Co. 

(Copyrighted.) 


90 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


c     a 

*  I 
«  a 


studios  with  a  determination  to  learn  all  she  possibly  can  from 
steady,  grinding,  academic  work,  and  from  her  teachers.  To  this 
end  she  spends  years  in  the  up-hill,  uninteresting  pursuit  of  train- 
ing the  eye  to  a  sense  of  proportion  and  construction  before  she 

attempts  really  serious 
work.  She  has  learned  to 
"wait  with  all  her  might." 
If  there  is  one  character- 
istic beyond  another  that 
the  average  American 
woman  possesses,  it  is  an 
"  instinct  for  expansion." 
She  has  an  unquenchable 
thirst  for  information,  a 
love  of  knowledge  for  its 
own  sake ;  this  actuating 
impulse  has  resulted  in  her 
development  in  all  direc- 
tions. If  we  consider  Mrs. 
Foote  the  pioneer  as  an 
artist  illustrator,  it  seems 
incredible  that,  considering 
the  comparatively  few  years 
her  drawings  have  been 
before  the  public,  there 
should  be  so  many  illustra- 
tors to  dispute  the  field  with 
her.  Let  us  take,  for  in- 
stance, Dora  Wheeler  Keith, 
whose  figure-work  shows  a 
grace  of  line  and  sense  of 
balance  indicating  a  strong 
decorative  tendency,  and  an 
insight  into  the  realm  of 
fanciful  creation.  Rosina 
E.  Sherwood's  illustrating 
possesses  solid  qualities 
and  evidences  of  versatility  in  handling  and  subject,  her  draw- 
ings ranging  from  purely  imaginative  creations  to  the  delin- 
eation of  ultra-fashionable  life.  Rhoda  Holmes  Nicholls  stands  at 
the  very  head  and  front  as  a  painter  in  water-colors,  and  is  the 
recipient  of  medals  both  here  and  abroad.  Though  an  English 


o  g 

I-H  O 

Vl  55 

W  M 

o  s 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


91 


woman  by  birth  and  training,  she  has  found  in  America  her 
greatest  success.  A  strong  sense  of  the  picturesque,  good  draughts- 
manship, and  an  unerring  handling  of  her  medium,  characterize 
her  illustrative  work. 

Philadelphia  is  justly  proud  of 
Alice  Barber  Stephens.  She  has 
marked  ability,  a  general  all-round 
capacity  for  grasping  the  salient 
point  in  a  story,  and  illustrating  it 
sympathetically. 

The  pen-drawings  of  Allegra 
Eggleston  are  well  ''understood;" 
they  show  careful  training  and 
individuality  of  style.  Her  por- 
trait work  with  the  pen  is  particu- 

k\  -^.-  rjr  sj  j*^x-  j  larly  clever. 

^*"~~~-JI»?l    ''     ^&j£***'^ 
_  __~~^  _____  __  .         Lydia    Field  Emmet  is  in  her 

ILLUSTRATED  PAGE  FROM  NURSERY  happiest  vein  in  depicting  children. 
RECEIPTS.  She  is  so  successful  here  that  one 

MARV    HATHAWAY    NYE.      UNITED    STATES. 


fine  herself  exclusively  to  this  field. 

There  is  a  constantly  growing  demand  for  good  illustrators  who 
can  give  a  natural,  sympathetic 
rendering  of  child-life.  Miss  Em- 
met is  not,  however,  by  any  means 
alone  in  the  arena.  Among  the 
contributors  to  children's  period- 
icals are  Miss  Hills,  equally  sure 
in  strong,  bold  outline  and  ex- 
tremely delicate  pen  and  ink  work; 
Miss  Kobbe,  with  her  clever  char- 
acter sketches;  Katherine  Pyle,  rec- 
ognized by  a  certain  quaint  origi- 
nality, and  Miss  Minna  Brown;  in 
fact  nearly  all  the  women  illustra- 
tors work  more  or  less  for  children's 
magazines.  We  regret  the  with- 
drawal of  Maria  Oakey  Dewing  from  magazine  work;  nor  do 
we  see  often  enough  the  charming  flower  studies,  full  of  delicacy 
and  feeling,  which  Mrs.  Richard  Watson  Gilder  occasionally  gives 
us.  Albertine  Randall  Wheelan  shows  great  originality,  a  remark- 
able sense  of  the  humorous,  and  a  daring  handling  of  the  pen. 


DESIGN    FOR   BOOK    COVER. 
MARY  HATHAWAY  NYE.    UNITED  STATES. 


ETCHING  — PORTRAIT   OF   MRS.  PIPER   AT   SPINNING    WHEEL.    E.    PIPER.    ENGLAND. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


93 


We  enjoy  hugely  her  Chinamen,  cats,  and    other   amusing  crea- 
tions.    They   are    real   beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt,   and  one  is 
positive  that  they  have  done,  and 
will   do   again,  all   the  ludicrous 
things  that  Mrs.  Wheelan  repre- 
sents them  as  doing. 

With  the  exception  of  Made- 
laine  Lemaire  and  a  few  others, 
it  is  difficult  to  find  any  women 
illustrators  abroad  of  much  prom- 
inence. It  sometimes  seems  that 
our  best  magazines,  which  in  ac- 
cepting only  good  work  have 
raised  illustration  to  a  fine  art, 
have  done  more  toward  dissemi- 
nating a  general  art  culture  in 
the  United  States  than  any  other 
single  influence. 

Now  that  it  is  possible  to  re- 
produce, by  different  processes, 
all  kinds  of  sketches,  we  find  not 
only  pen  and  ink  but  lead  pencil, 
crayon,  gouache,  aquarelle,  pastel, 


s  It*  UJ 
OF  A  I* lyy*M.r>g  tni  iJa 

Her  n, 

Sh<  w 

I  is  sprinkled  ocr  wdh  tnffn 

WU,  Uk  J 


NEEDLEWORK    PANEL. 
Miss  ELIOT  WALKER,    ENGLAND. 


and  even  oil,  rendered  with  great  success. 
The  illustrator  has  all  the  delights  of  using 
these  different  mediums  and  yet  working 
toward  a  practical  result. 

Illustration  opens  so  wide  and  attract- 
ive a  vista,  occupies  so  high  a  place  in  the 
art  of  this  country,  and  is  withal  so  remu- 
nerative, that  women  would  do  well  to  fol- 
low it  more  largely  than  they  have  done 
heretofore. 

A  gentleman  who  is  an  acknowledged 
authority  on  illustration,  in  lecturing  to  a 
class  of  art  students  on  the  pros  and  cons 
of  working  for  reproduction,  said  that  to 
be  a  successful  illustrator  one  must  have, 
among  other  qualities,  "  ingenuity  and 

DESIGNED  BY  SARAH  W.  WHITMAN. invention."      If  this  be  true  of  illustration, 
UNITED  STATES.  .  . 

it  applies  preeminently  to  book-cover  de- 
signing.    This  particular  line  of  applied  arts  has  received  a  great 


BOOK  COVER. 


94 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


impetus  in  the  last  five  or  six  years.  Until  that  time  there  was 
practically  no  attention  paid  to  the  proper  decoration  of  book 
covers.  Even  the  best  publishers,  except,  perhaps,  on  those  rare 
occasions  when  an  expensive  volume  was  to  be  issued,  were  guilty 
of  offering  the  most  preposterous  inconsistencies  to  their  patrons. 

A  publisher  was  quite  likely  to 
bring  out,  let  us  say,  a  volume  of 
critical  essays  with  a  bunch  of 
daisies  thrown  across  the  cover, 
with  a  careless  disregard  of  all 
rules  of  balance  and  composition. 
Among  books  of  a  higher  char- 
acter, it  was  a  common  thing  to 
find  an  illustration  extracted  from 
the  contents  of  the  volume  and  re- 
produced on  the  cover.  We  hardly 
know  to  what  to  attribute  the  gen- 
eral revolt  among  the  publishers 
and  the  public  against  this  puerile 
perversion  of  the  art  of  binding. 
Perhaps  the  establishment  of  such 
clubs  as  the  Grolier  and  Aldine  has  had  more  to  do  with  the  reform 
in  this  matter  than  anything  else.  Through  frequent  exhibitions 
the  members  of  these  clubs  have  been  able  to  study,  and,  better 
still,  to  put  before  the  public,  the  treasures  of  private  collectors.  It 
was  inevitable  that  the  contrast  between  the  beauty  of  treatment 
and  design  seen  in  the  Grolier,  Derome,  and  kindred  styles,  and  the 
entire  absence  of  these  qualities  in  the  current  pub- 
lications, should  be  strongly  felt.  The  effect  of  this 
influence  has  been  such  that  publishers  have  come 
to  realize  that  a  salable  book  must  have  an  attractive 
cover.  It  is  not  expedient  to  have  hand-tooled  leather 
and  such  other  expensive  bits  of  handicraft  as  we 
have  inherited  from  the  bibliophiles  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  but  even  in  this  age  of 
machinery,  and  the  endless  publication  of  cheaply 
bound  books,  very  charming  and  artistic  cover  effects 
are  within  the  reach  of  the  cultivated  and  enterprising  publisher. 
Book-cover  work  presents  a  wide  field,  ranging  from  the  thor- 
oughly formal  conventional  sixteenth-century  cover  to  something 
appropriate  for  the  so-called  railroad  novel.  It  is  here  that  the 


BOOK    COVER,    XVI    CENTURY. 
M.  A.  SHELDEN.    UNITED  STATES. 


BOOK  COVER. 

BOSTON 

COLLECTION. 

UNITED  STATES. 


Engraved  by  Hand,  McNally  &  Co. 

EASTERN  FAC;ADE  OF  THE  MINES  AND  MINING  BUILDING, 
As  SEEN  FROM  THE  SOUTH. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


97 


BOOK    COVER. 

ALICE  C.  MORSE. 

UNITED  STATES. 

By  permission  of  the 

Century  Co. 


illustrator's  "  ingenuity  and  invention  "  is  called  into  play.     It  is 
not    enough   to   have   a  pretty  extensive   knowledge  of   historic 
ornament;   she   must    be  able  to  extract  from  a  book  its   central 
idea,  and  reduce  this  thought,  if  possible,  to  some  tangible  form 
permitting  a  conventional  treatment.     She  must  not  outrage  any 
true  standards  of  design,  yet  she  should  be  able  to  suggest  to  the 
,  casual   observer,  in    a   symbolic  way,  the    contents 
I  of  the  volume.     Women  seem  to   have   a  remark- 
1  able  faculty  for  designing.     Their  intuitive    sense 
I  of  decoration,  their  feeling  for  beauty  of  line  and 
harmony  of  color,  insures  them  a  high  degree  of 
success.     Another    consideration   is    the    necessity 
of  rigid,  exact   treatment   of  details;   uncertain    or 
even  suggestive  drawing  is  out  of  place  in  cover 
ornamentation. 

Mrs.  Sarah  W.    Whitman   of   Boston   and    Mar- 
garet  N.    Armstrong   have   taken   a   firm   hold   on 
(Copyrighted.)      the    publishers,    and    won    recognition    from    the 
public,  by  their  appropriate,  tasteful,  well-studied  book  decoration.* 
The  designs  of  Miss  Sheldon,  Miss  Sinclair,  and  others  are  prom- 
ising. 

For  those  possessing  the  requisite  endowment,  the  ever-widening 
prospect  in  cover  designing  is  encouraging. 

Just  now  wood  engraving  is  suffering  a  temporary  eclipse.  Its 
future  is  problematic,  owing  to  the  process-work 
so  much  in  vogue,  and  so  inimical  to  the  interests 
of  the  engraver.  It  is  lamentable  to  have  to  admit 
that  there  is  the  slightest  question  in  regard  to 
the  future  of  the  wood-cut.  It  seems  impossible 
that  this  method  of  a  sympathetic  rendering  of 
the  artist's  idea  by  a  well-trained  hand  and  eye 
should  be  superseded  by  a  purely  mechanical  means 
in  reproduction.  We  detect,  even  now,  however, 
symptoms  of  a  reaction  toward  the  old-time  wood 
engraving  among  the  publishers.  There  are  rec- 
ords of  women  engraving  on  wood  in  the  time  of  Albrecht 
Diirer.  Since  the  revival  of  the  art  in  England,  through  the 
work  of  Thomas  Bewick,  we  find  mention  of  but  one  eminent 
woman  engraver,  Elizabeth  Thompson,  daughter  of  the  famous 


BOOK    COVER. 

BOSTON 

COLLECTION. 

UNITED  STATES. 


*  Miss  Alice  C.  Morse,  the  writer  of  this  paper,  has  made  a  wide  reputation  by 
her  excellent  and  serious  work  in  the  designing  of  book  covers. — ED. 
7 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


engraver  John  Thompson.  Most  of  our  women  engravers  in  this 
country  (and  we  have  many)  have  sometime  been  students  in  a 
class  started  by  the  Cooper  Institute  about  twenty  years  ago. 

Engraving  has  been  taught  at  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Academy  of  Fine  Arts  also.  The 
Cooper  has  discontinued  the  department 
of  wood  engraving  until  the  future  of  the 
art  is  assured. 

Among  the  women 
well  worth  mention- 
ing for  exceptional 
technical  skill  are 
Miss  Caroline  A. 
Powell,  a  former  stu- 
dent of  the  Cooper, 
and  pupil  of  Timothy 
Cole.  A  volume  is- 
sued by  the  Society  of 


BOOK  COVER. 

SARAH  W.  WHITMAN. 
UNITED  STATES. 


THE  LITTLE  KNITTER. 
j  M.  O.  KOBBE.  UNITED  STATES. 

American  Wood    En-  (By  permission  of  the  Century 

gravers  contains  fine 
examples  of  Miss  Powell's  work.     This  book  was  awarded  the  grand 
prize  at  the  Berlin  International  Exposition  of  Fine  Arts.     She  was 
the  first  woman  admitted  to  membership  in  this  society.   Since  then, 
s  the    names   of  Anna  B.  j 

Comstock    and    Edith 

Cooper  have  been  added,  j 

To  Miss  Powell's  earlier  J 

achievements    she   has  j 

added  some  original  I 

work. 

Mrs.   Comstock,    the  > 

wife  of  the  professor  of  i 

entomology   at    Cornell,  I 

has  made  a  specialty  of  I 

engraving  moths,  beetles,         AUNT  TABITHA. 

tn    illustrate    i,~r  M.  O.  KOBBE.  UNITED  STATES. 

.  1  u  s  t  r  a  t  e  Her  (By  permission  of  the  Century 

books.        Her      Company— Copyrighted.) 

work  in  this  direction  is  remarkable.  Edith  Cooper  is  well 
known  to  lovers  of  wood  engraving  through  the  pages  of  the 
magazines. 

Alice   Barber  Stevens,   before   she   became   prominent  as  an 
illustrator,  did  some  good  wood  engraving. 


ANTWERP  PEASANT, 

M.O.  KOBBE.  UNITED  STATES,     j. 
(By  permission  of  the  Century  C        ' 

Company-Copyrighted.)      husband's 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


99 


Miss  Waldeyer  excels  in  fac-simile.  We  have  also  the  Misses 
Naylor,  thoroughly  good  all-round  workers  and  engravers ;  Miss 
Berger,  and  others. 

The  mechanical  difficulties  of  wood  engraving  are  great,  and 
can  only  be  overcome  by  the  closest  application.  As  the  standard, 
too,  is  very  high  here,  there  is  no  encouragement  to  young  workers 
in  the  existing  order  of  things.  Unless  there  is  a  change  for  the 
better,  we  shall  soon  find  ourselves  without  competent  engravers 
to  fill  the  places  of  the  older  ones  as  they  leave  the  ranks. 


,  '... 

PEN  AND  INK  DRAWING— " KITTENS  AT  SCHOOL." 
A.  R.  WHEELAN.     UNITED  STATES.     By  permission  of  the  Century  Co.  (Copyrighted.) 

The  future  of  the  wood-cut  lies  perhaps  almost  entirely  in  the 
direction  of  original  work,  or  reproductive  engraving  of  marked 
individual  excellence. 

Fortunately,  even  the  best  process-work  does  not,  in  many 
cases,  give  the  effect  necessary,  and  a  wood  engraver  of  unusual 
ability  is  assured  abundant  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  his  or 
her  calling. 

As  women  increase  in  physical  vigor  and  mental  grasp — through 
the  higher  education — they  eagerly  seek  an  outlet  for  their  ener- 
gies. In  art,  perhaps,  more  than  in  any  other  profession,  do  they 
find  the  conditions  which  make  for  success. 

ALICE  C.  MORSE. 


THE   WORK   OF   CINCINNATI  WOMEN  IN  DECORATED 

POTTERY. 

THE  ceramic  exhibit  by  the  women  of  Cincinnati,  as  shown  in 
the  Cincinnati  Room  at  the  Columbian  Exposition,  is  one  of 
the  results  of  an  impulse  which,  in  1874-75,  was  felt  by  some 
of  the  leading-  potters  of  the  United  States  and  by  a  few  women  in 
different  localities.     There  was  no  concerted  action  between  the 

potters  and  the 
women,  and  none 
between  the 
women  of  Cincin- 
nati and  those  of 
other  cities. 

These  sporadic 
symptoms  seemed 
to  indicate  that  the 
times  were  ripe  for 
the  introduction  of 
a  new  industry  into 
the  country,  an  in- 
dustry that  recom- 
mended itself  to 
the  taste  of  many 
women,  and 
seemed  to  offer  a 
profitable  field  of 
future  work  for 
them. 

When  the  wom- 
en of  Cincinnati 
began  their  experi- 
ments there  was  no 
available  k  n  o  w  1  - 
edge  in  reference 
to  the  art  of  deco- 


POTTERY.    CINCINNATI  COLLECTION. 


UNITED  STATES. 
(101) 


102  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

rating,  and  no  suitable  kilns  for  firing  their  wares.  The  first  result 
of  their  efforts  worthy  of  note  was  a  collection  of  overglaze  decora- 
tion sent  by  them  to  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876.  Of  this 
collection,  two  tea-cups  and  saucers  and  a  chocolate  pitcher,  loaned 
by  the  Cincinnati  Museum,  will  be  found  in  the  Cincinnati  Room. 
In  1877  experiments  were  made  in  the  common  clays  of  the 
neighborhood,  in  incised  and  relief  work,  and  in  the  use  of  color 
in  the  biscuit,  a  first  step  in  advance  of  overglaze  decoration. 


PAINTED  PORCELAIN  VASE,  OLD  SWEDISH  STYLE.    HELENE  HOLD.    SWEDEN. 

A  few  notable  pieces  of  this  early  underglaze  decoration  from 
the  museum  may  also  be  seen.  These  pieces,  when  they  appeared, 
seemed  marvelous  to  us,  and  perhaps  no  achievement  since  made 
has  marked  so  great  a  step  in  advance.  The  pieces  representing 
this  period  are  three  small  plates,  showing  the  first  success  in  this 
underglaze,  and  a  large  vase,  white  body,  fishes,  and  water-plants. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


103 


A  later  piece  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection,  a  punch-bowl, 

yellow  body,  with  dragon. 

These  enthusiastic  women,  believing  in  themselves,  and  foresee- 
ing in  the  future  work  for  many  hands,  brought  clays  from  distant 

parts  of  the  State  and  built  suitable  kilns  for  their  firing. 

A  pottery  club  was  organized  in    1 879,  which  has  been  one  of 

the  active  instrumentalities  in  the  advancement  of  mjtuy  branches 

of  decorative  work.    The 

decoration  of  the  Pottery 

Club  shows  some  of  the 

best  work  of  Cincinnati 

women.    Miss  McLaugh- 

lin,  president  of  this  club, 

discovered  the  decorative 

process  of  the    Limoges 

Faience,     specimens     of 

which  will  be   found  in 

the  exhibit  of  the  Cincin- 
nati Pottery  Club.  Mrs. 

Bellamy  Storer  was  early 

in  the  field  of  decoration 
and  experiments;  her 
talents  were  varied  and 
her  taste  individual. 

The  work  of  the  la- 
dies was,  much  of  it, 
fired,  and  their  experi- 
ments made  at  one  of 
the  leading  potteries, 
where  some  simple  ar- 
rangements were  made 
for  their  accommodation. 
The  progress  of  the  work 
soon  outgrew  the  facili- 
ties afforded  at  the  pot- 
tery, and  in  the  autumn 
of  1880  Mrs.  Storer  established  her  own  pottery  in  one  of  the 
suburbs.  The  success  of  "  Rook  wood  Pottery,"  both  in  an  artistic 
and  a  commercial  sense,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  perfect 
realization  of  decorative  art  in  clay  in  the  United  States;  the 
result  of  a  woman's  taste,  skill,  and  perseverance,  from  the  initial 
step  until  it  reached  a  period  of  commercial  success.  Mrs.  Storer's 


POTTERY.    CINCINNATI  COLLECTION.    UNITED  STATES. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


106 


judgment  led  her  to  select  those  whose  experience  was  greater 
than  her  own  in  perfecting  her  manufacture.  The  decorators, 
from  the  first,  were  pupils  of  the  School  of  Design,  and  perhaps  in 
the  application  of  artistic  principles  to  an  industry  the  influence 
of  the  school  has  been  as  noticeably  shown  here  as  in  any  other 
direction. 

Mrs.  Storer  herself,  at  intervals  of  leisure  from  her  many  en- 
gagements, continues  to  practice  her  favorite  art  of  decoration,  and 


POTTERY  AND  GLASS— CINCINNATI  COLLECTION.    UNITED  STATES. 

her  work  will  be  shown  in  the  Cincinnati  Room.  Her  taste  is  in- 
clined to  the  grotesque,  and  especially  to  the  Japanese  in  style. 
She  is  reported  to  have  said:  "  If  any  one  thinks  my  dragons  are 
not  anatomically  correct,  let  him  prove  it." 

While  Mrs.  Storer  was  developing  and  perfecting  her  pottery, 
the  Pottery  Club,  and  many  women  outside  of  it,  were  as  busily 
engaged  in  the  various  branches  of  potting  and  porcelain  deco- 
ration. 


106  ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 

Perhaps  no  work  done  in  Cincinnati  seems  more  individual  than 
that  of  Mrs.  C.  A.  Plimpton,  in  the  common  clays  of  Ohio.  Her  artis- 
tic taste  early  led  her  to  see  the  adaptability  of  these  soft  clays  to 
decorative  uses.  Her  processes  consisted  in  inlaying  contrasting 
colors  in  the  green  clay;  in  relief  work  in  a  variety  of  shades  of  clay; 
and  of  "  pate-sur-pate,"  or  ship  decoration,  in  landscape  and  other 
effects,  ranging  in  color  from  dark-brown  clays,  through  the  reds, 
to  yellow  and  white.  Interesting  specimens  of  her  work,  loaned 
by  individuals  and  by  the  Cincinnati  Museum,  will  be  found  in  the 
Cincinnati  Room. 

In  the  limits  assigned  to  this  paper,  it  is  impossible  to  do  more 
than  allude  in  a  brief  manner  to  the  work  of  Cincinnati  women  in 
this  interesting  specialty.  Specimens  of  the  very  early  work,  of  the 
first  successes  in  color  under  the  glaze,  of  early  Rookwood,  and 
indeed  of  all  branches  through  the  days  of  experiment  and  uncer- 
tainty down  to  and  including  the  finished  work  of  the  most  expe- 
rienced hands  of  the  present  day,  will  be  found  in  the  Cincinnati 
Room. 

It  is  an  interesting  circumstance  that  the  women  who  began  the 
work  in  1875  are,  with  few  exceptions,  still  engaged  in  it. 

It  can  not  be  doubted  from  the  results  of  the  past  few  years  that 
there  is  an  interesting  future  in  pottery  for  decorative  art  in  Cin- 
cinnati. The  variety  and  beauty  of  the  common  clays  of  Ohio  are 
great,  and  the  success  thus  far  in  their  use  for  decorative  purposes 
is  such  as  to  warrant  the  expectation  that  the  field  in  that  direction 
is,  as  yet,  barely  entered  upon. 

Perhaps  at  no  center  of  pottery  work  in  the  country  is  more 
originality  and  variety  in  work  to  be  found  than  in  Cincinnati. 
Nowhere  have  the  common  clays  been  used  in  such  variety  of 
combination  and  decoration,  nor  has  so  much  effect  been  produced 
by  colored  and  contrasting  glazes. 

ELIZABETH  W.  PERRY. 


WOMAN   IN  SCIENCE. 


THE  mind  of  woman  has  always  shown  itself  in  sympathy 
with  the  harmony  and  beauty  of  the  physical  universe.  In 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge  she  often  elects  as  her  favorite 
paths  those  which  bring  her  into  close  relations  with  nature.  Her 
proverbial  propensity  to  investigate,  her  acknowledged  patience, 
her  delicacy  of  manipulation,  her  exactness  of  detail  all  find  legiti- 
mate scope  in  the  nice  observation  and  conscientious  work  of  the 
laboratory.  With  advancing 
education,  better  equipped 
than  ever  before,  she  re- 
sponds to  the  appeal  of 
natural  forms  and  pro- 
cesses. Her  eye,  and  ear, 
and  touch  become  sensitive, 
her  mental  perception  keen 
to  note  variations  of  type 
and  modifications  of  struct- 
ure. 

It  is  pleasing  to  record 
that  American  women  of 
this  generation  are  entering 
the  various  departments  of 
scientific  research  with  en- 
thusiastic devotion. 

While  college  doors 
were  yet  closed  to  the  sex, 
the  modern  movement  for 
freeing  woman  from  the 
traditional  limitations  not 
having  been  inaugurated, 
individual  women  were  often  led  to  study  in  a  more  or  less 
isolated  way  for  their  own  satisfaction.  How  many  herbari- 
ums, portfolios  of  drawings  of  plant  or  animal  forms,  collec- 

(107) 


WATER-COLOR. 

JESSUP  COLLECTION  OF  NORTH  AMERICAN  WOODS. 
MINNIE  R.  SARGENT.    UNITED  STATES. 


'^mLtewi'f' 


OLD    ENGLISH     CLOCK    IN    CARVED    WOOD    CASE.     MRS.    ELIOT.    ENGLAND. 


IN    THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


Ill 


tions  of  shells,  sea-mosses,  and  minerals  have  been  stored  away  as 
private  memorials  of  happy  research  and  experimentation  !  Field 
and  forest,  mountain  and  shore  have  been  explored  for  treasures 
of  science,  by  many  a  modest  daughter  of  the  soil  or  darling  of  lux- 
ury. A  few  of  these  early  students,  lifted  into  prominence  by  the 
persistency  and  value  of  their  work,  grace  the  record  of  woman's 
intellectual  achievement  with  a  fame  which  we  are  proud  to 
acknowledge. 

Maria  Mitchell  as  a  discoverer  in  astronomical  science  is  a  peer- 
ess of  the  realm  in  that  exalted  branch  of  research.     A  student 

from  childhood  with  her 
father,  an  astronomer  of 
repute,  she  watched  from 
his  observatory  at  Nan- 
tucket  the  suns  and  plan- 
ets in  their  majestic  march 
through  the  stellar  spaces; 
she  took  observations,  com- 
puted orbits,  recorded  ce- 
lestial phenomena,  resolved 
nebulae,  studied  sun-spots, 
the  satellites  of  Jupiter  and 
Saturn,  the  color  of  stars, 
and  prepared  the  American 
Nautical  Almanac  for  many 
years,  till  October,  1847,  she 
hailed  a  new  comet  which 
"  swam  into  her  ken."  For 
this  discovery  she  received 
a  gold  medal  from  the  King 
of  Denmark  and  a  copper 
medal  from  the  republic  of 
San  Marino.  Miss  Mitchell 

POTTERY-CINCINNATI  COLLECTION.    UNITED  STATES.  was  the  first  woman  elected 

to  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  She  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Astronomy  at  Vassar  College  on  the  open- 
ing of  that  institution,  and  later  visited  Europe,  where  she  was  the 
honored  guest  of  Sir  John  Herschel,  of  Humboldt,  and  of  Le 
Verrier.  Her  unaffected  and  unpretentious  personality,  as  well  as 
her  honest  and  sober  self-respect,  made  her  a  valued  friend  of  great 
scientists  everywhere.  She  received  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  from 
Hanover  in  1882,  and  from  Columbia  in  1887.  She  died  January 


112  ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 

28,  1889,  illustrious  through  her  contributions  to  science,  and  hon- 
ored in  the  hearts  of  all  her  countrywomen. 

The  name  of  Miss  Eliza  A.  Youmans  is  conspicuous  as  a  pioneer 
in  the  field  of  botany.  She  wrote  a  treatise  upon  plant-life  which 
marked  an  era  in  methods  of  study  and  teaching.  Hers  was  one  of 
the  first  books  which  pursued  object-teaching  as  the  true  method, 
and  made  original  observation  the  basis  of  investigation.  She  was 
the  sister  of  Professor  Youmans  of  New  York,  and  was  associated 
with  her  father  in  his  intercourse  with  the  scientists  of  Europe. 

In  many  high-schools  for  girls,  private  seminaries  for  women, 
normal  schools,  or  advanced  private  academies,  the  natural  sciences 
of  geography,  geology,  astronomy,  botany,  and  zoology  have  been 

long  taught  by  women 
with  distinguished  abili- 
ty. Now  the  colleges  for 
women  maintain  profes- 
sorships in  every  branch 
of  science  filled  honora- 
bly and  successfully  by 
women.  Consult  the 
catalogues  of  these  in- 
stitutions  for  their 
names,  flanked  by  de- 
grees and  titles  witness- 
ing their  learning  and 
their  achievements. 

Even  in  the  universi- 
ties themselves  young 
women  wrest  honors  in 

POTTERY— CINCINNATI  COLLECTION.    UNITED  STATES.      ,  -  .       A  .  ~       „    ,  ..    ., 

the  scientific  field  from 

the  most  ardent  champions  of  the  other  sex ;  the  increasing  fellow- 
ships for  young  women  are  leading  forward  the  most  gifted  and 
the  most  ambitious  of  our  girl  graduates  to  higher  attainments, 
year  by  year,  and  there  are  wider  opportunities  of  competition,  not 
only  in  the  physical  and  natural  sciences,  but  in  ethnology,  archae- 
ology, philology,  psychology,  and  even  distinctive  branches  and 
special  lines  of  applied  science. 

There  is,  moreover,  a  vast  amount  of  work  of  a  high  order  and 
great  value  done  by  women  as  assistants  in  the  scientific  depart- 
ments of  our  universities.  The  Harvard  observatory  and  Harvard 
botanical  and  zoological  museums  testify  to  the  thoroughness 
and  comprehensiveness  of  such  assistance  in  observing,  recording, 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


113 


and  comparing  phenomena,  and  in  the  exacting  details  of  micro- 
scopy, photography,  and  spectroscopy,  as  well  as  in  making  up 
monographs  and  arranging  and  classifying  the  collections.  The 
Natural  History  Society  and  the  Marine  Biological  Laboratory  of 
Massachusetts  are  greatly  dependent  on  the  active  assistance  and 
original  investigation  of  women  as  students  and  co-workers  with 
the  curators  and  professors.  A  number  of  women  are  catalogued 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  as  curators  of  museums,  as  instruct- 
ors or  professors  of  science  in  the  institutes  and  colleges,  and  as 
deans  of  faculty.  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards  of  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  in 
the  department  of  sanitary 
chemistry,  is  widely  known. 
Mrs.  Rachel  Lloyd  of  Lin- 
coln, Neb.,  one  of  the  most 
noted  women  in  chemistrv 

* 

in  this  country,  took  her 
degree  at  Zurich.  Mrs. 
Katharine  Brandegee  of 
California  Academy  of  Sci- 
ence is  curator  of  a  bo- 
tanical museum.  Emily 
Gregory,  Ph.  D.,  of  Barnard 
College,  is  recognized  in 
botany.  Rachel  L.  Bodley 
made  a  catalogue  of  natural 
history  which  was  regarded 
by  Prof.  Asa  Gray  as  a  valu- 
able contribution  to  science. 
She  filled  the  chair  of 
chemistry  and  toxology  in  the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  became  dean  of  the  faculty.  She  died  in  1888.  Mrs. 
Louisa  Reed  Stowell,  who  has  been  in  charge  of  the  botanical  labora- 
tory of  Michigan  University  for  twelve  years,  is  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Microscopic  Society  of  London,  and  of  many  other  scientific 
bodies.  She  has  made  over  a  hundred  contributions  to  current  sci- 
entific literature,  all  illustrated  by  original  drawings  from  her  own 
microscopical  preparations.  At  the  Boston  Institute  of  Technology 
the  Margaret  Cheney  Reading  Room  keeps  in  memory  the  promise  of 
a  fair  young  life  happily  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  chemistry.  Grace 
Anna  Lewis  of  Pennsylvania  is  well  known  as  an  authority  on 
the  habits  of  birds,  and  has  lectured  on  this  subject  with  great 


WATER-COLOR.    JESSUP  COLLECTION  OF  NORTH 

AMERICAN  WOODS.     MINNIE  R.  SARGENT. 

UNITED  STATES. 


BRONZE     PLATE.      MARCELLE    LANCELOT-CROCE.     FRANCE. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


115 


acceptance.  Miss  Cora  Clarke  of  Jamaica  Plain  has  made  an 
exhaustive  collection  of  galls,  fungi,  and  mosses;  Mrs.  Lemmon, 
artist  of  the  California  Board  of  Forestry;  Miss  Marion  Talbot  of 
Chicago  University,  department  of  domestic  science;  and  a  host 
of  others  who  fill  responsible  positions  in  all  departments  of  science 
might  swell  the  list  far  beyond  the  purpose  or  limits  of  this  paper. 

The  department  of  biology  seems  to  attract  a  large  proportion 
of  recent  students,  who  meet  the  demands  of  laboratory  work  with 
great  efficiency.  The  science  of  ethnology  has  been  ably  served  by 
Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher  of  Massachusetts.  She  studied  the  archaeo- 
logical remains  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  and  went  in 
1 88 1  to  live  among  the  Omaha  Indians,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology,  for  the  further  pursuit  of  archae- 
ology and  ethnology.  She  has 
contributed  results  of  great 
value,  covering  Indian  tradi- 
tions, customs,  religious  cere- 
monies, and  many  kindred 
subjects.  She  published  a 
book  on  "  Indian  Civilization 
and  Education"  in  1886,  and 
was  then  sent  to  Alaska  to 
investigate  the  condition  of 
the  natives.  She  is  now  en- 
gaged in  making  allotments 
of  land  to  the  Omaha  Indians, 
for  which  service  she  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Government. 

The  scientific  literature  of 
women  is  becoming  very  ex- 
tended. From  the  text-books 
Horace  Mann,  of  Mrs.  Louis  Agassiz  and  Mrs.  Richards,  of  Miss 
Crocker  and  Miss  Arms,  to  the  charming  sketches  of  Olive  Thome 
Miller,  we  have  a  constantly  increasing  series  of  elementary  works 
in  natural  science.  The  books  of  Miss  Jane  Newell  of  Cambridge, 
on  botany;  of  Miss  Julia  McNair  Wright,  on  plant  and  animal  life, 
a  series  called  "  Seaside  and  Wayside,"  with  other  small  but  signifi- 
cant volumes  intended  to  meet  the  popular  interest  and  compre- 
hension and  arouse  a  love  of  scientific  study,  are  pouring  daily 
from  the  press.*  The  department  of  Elementary  Science,  or 

*  Mrs.  Hopkins,  the  writer  of  this  paper,  is  the  author  of  "  Educational  Psychol- 
ogy," "  A  Hand-Book  of  the  Earth,"  "Observation  Lessons,"  "  Elementary  Science," 
etc. — ED. 


WATER  COLOR. 
H.  R.  H.  PRINCESS  LOUISE,  OF  DENMARK. 

of  Mrs.  Emma  Willard  and  Mrs. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  117 

Natural  Study,  in  the  common  schools  is  almost  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  women  as  supervisors  and  teachers,  and  it  can  not  be 
questioned  that  it  is  directed  and  presented  with  remarkable 
adaptation  to  the  general  need  and  the  fostering  of  scientific 
methods  of  study,  as  well  as  a  love  of  nature. 

Directly  in  the  line  of  pure  science  is  Mrs.  Mary  Hemenway's 
undertaking  in  the  department  of  archaeology.  Her  southwestern 
archaeological  expedition,  with  its  resulting  museum,  literature,  and 
historical  collections,  is  an  invaluable  foundation  for  future  ethno- 
logical research,  and  is  fruitful  already  of  great  results  for  the 
original  study  of  American  history.  The  collection  accruing  to  the 
expedition  and  investigations  thus  far  has  been  recently  exhibited 
in  Madrid,  and  proved  prolific  of  results  for  so  short  a  period.  It  is 
hoped  that  some  permanent  establishment  of  this  museum  of 
American  archaeology  may  be  effected  for  the  emulation  of  such 
noble  scientific  work  as  that  of  the  late  eminent  Egyptologist,  Miss 
Amelia  B.  Edwards. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  promise  of  all 
these  signs  of  the  times  in  this  brief  resume.  It  seems  fitting  that 
some  flower  of  scientific  expression,  some  emblem  of  the  spirit  of 
womanhood  beautifying  even  the  dry  technicalities  of  the  theme, 
should  bring  this  paper  to  a  close.  We  find  this  in  a  series  of  four 
hundred  and  twelve  water-color  paintings  by  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Sar- 
gent of  Brookline,  prepared  to  illustrate  the  Jessup  collection  of 
North  American  woods  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory of  New  York,  for  a  volume  written  and  furnished  by  her  hus- 
band. These  illustrations  are  .drawn  from  nature,  the  size  of  life, 
and  for  outline,  color,  grace,  beauty,  and  scientific  detail  they  are 
beyond  criticism.  Professor  Goodale  of  Harvard  University  declares 
them  to  be  unique  and  admirable  in  the  realm  of  both  science  and 
art;  the  very  spirit  of  the  trees  stirs  in  them,  and  a  revelation 
of  beauty  and  harmony  greets  us  in  these  inimitable  and  loving 
studies  from  nature.  Mrs.  Sargent's  drawings  take  the  place  in 
the  delineation  of  native  foliage  that  Audubon's  matchless  and 
exhaustive  sketches  hold  in  the  representation  of  the  birds  of 
North  America. 

May  we  not  assure  ourselves  that  whatever  woman's  thought 
and  study  shall  embrace  will  thereby  receive  a  new  inspiration; 
that  she  will  save  science  from  materialism,  and  art  from  a  gross 
realism;  that  the  "  eternal  womanly  shall  lead  upward  and  onward  ?  " 

LOUISA  PARSONS  HOPKINS. 


FAC-SIMILE    OF    BIBLE    BELONGING    TO    QUEEN    ELIZABETH. 
ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ART  NEEDLEWORK.    ENGLAND. 


WOMAN   IN    LITERATURE. 

IN  this  great  review  of  ours,  each  company  in  turn  steps  to  the 
front,  shows  its  colors,  salutes,  and  passes  on  to  make  room  for 
the  next.     Painters,  sculptors,  needlewomen,  have  gone  by, 
and  now  the  woman  of  letters  must  raise  her  banner  (sable,  a 
pen  rampant  by  two  ink-pots  couchant,  on  a  white  ground;  motto, 
"  Legion!  "),  must  come  forward,  and  give  an  account  of  herself. 

She  is  notoriously  modest,  yet  she  thinks  she  has  a  pretty  good 
account  to  render,  and  points  with  gentle  pride  to  her  well-ordered 
ranks;  while,  to  convince  the  world  of  her  advance,  she  refers  the 
public  to  the  literary  women  of  half  a  century  ago,  and  challenges 
a  comparison.     Though  she  boasts  of  no  higher  attainment  than 
her  sisters  of  other  professions,  yet  she  may  say  that  she  comes  of 
an  older  family;  for  woman  began  to  write  before  she  thought  of 
taking  prominence  in  other  arts.     Was  not  Anne  Bradstreet,  wife 
of  Simon  the  Governor,  the  first  American  poet?     She  died  in  1672. 
She  was  called  the  Tenth  Muse,  and  the  grim  Puritans  wept  over  her 
poems.    One  reads  them  to-day  with  respect,  but  feels  no  keen  desire 
for  her  Parnassus.     Next  in  order,  perhaps,  comes  Miss  Hannah 
Adams,  a  gentle  and  lovely  soul,  who  lived  into  our  own  century, 
and,  dying,  was  the  first  person  buried  in  Mount  Auburn.     The 
family  of  Sedgwick  gives  us  two  writers  in  the  same  generation, 
though  one  of  them  held  the  name  by  marriage  only,  having  been 
a  Livingston  by  birth.     This  latter  was  Susan,  author  of  several 
novels  and  tales,  of  which  one,  "  Walter  Thornby,"  was  written  when 
she  was  over  seventy  years  of  age.     Better  known  than  this  per- 
severing lady  was  her    sister-in-law,   Miss   Catherine   Sedgwick, 
whose  moral  tales  attained  a  wide  popularity.     She  might  be  called 
the  American  Miss  Edgeworth,  and  some  of  her  titles,  "  The  Poor 
Rich  Man  and  the  Rich  Poor  Man,"  "  Means  and  Ends,"  etc.,  remind 
us  forcibly  of  that  sprightly  moralist. 

Next  we  must  mention  Mrs.  Sigourney,  a  writer  of  wide  repute, 
though  little  read  to-day.  "  Pocahontas  and  Other  Poems,"  "  Lays 
of  the  Heart,"  "  Tales  in  Prose  and  Verse,"  the  very  titles  breathe 
of  bygone  days  and  thoughts;  yet  Mrs.  Sigourney  was  a  noble  and 

(119) 


120  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

lovely  woman,  and  one  might  spend  an  hour  much  less  profitably 
than  in  making  or  renewing  acquaintance  with  her  writings. 

In  looking  back  at  these  early  lights,  we  must  not  forget  the 
Davidson  sisters,  Lucretia  and  Margaret,  that  lovely  pair  whose 
story  was  so  touchingly  and  beautifully  told  by  Washington  Irving. 


WALL   HANGING    REPRESENTING   THE    GODDESS    BONOMIE. 
FIGURE   BY  BURNE-JONES,  BELONGING  TO  THE  ROYAL  SCHOOL  OF  ART  NEEDLEWORK. 

ENGLAND. 

It  is  a  sad  little  story  of  too  early  development,  hectic  beauty  and 
blossoming,  and  death  by  consumption  almost  before  womanhood 
was  attained.  Lucretia,  poor  child,  wrote  278  poems,  and  died  at 
seventeen.  Margaret's  record  is  scarcely  less  startling  and  painful. 


LOUIS   XV.    TABLE.    DECORATIONS  BY  MME.  G.  NIETER.    FRANCE. 


122  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

One  wishes  they  might  have   lived  to-day,  and   have  had  some 
chance  of  rounding  out  their  gentle  lives. 

Next  we  have  Mrs.  Frances  Osgood,  author  of  "  A  Wreath  of 
Flowers  from  New  England,"  and  other  volumes  of  poetry;  and, 
contemporary  with  her,  the  commanding  figure  of  Margaret  Fuller. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  dwell  at  some  length  on  the  life  of  this 
amazing  woman,  who  began  to  write  Latin  verses  at  eight  years 


PORTFOLIO    CONTAINING    PORTRAITS    OF    DISTINGUISHED 
SWEDISH    WOMEN. 

old,  and  whose  powers  were  at  their  height  when  the  fatal  storm 
of  July  16,  1850,  hurried  her,  with  all  she  loved,  to  her  ocean  grave; 
but  this  brief  record  can  do  little  more  than  mention  names  and 
dates,  and  those  who  do  not  know  Queen  Margaret's  story  are 
prayed  to  read  it,  in  Mrs.  Howe's  memoir  of  her. 

Lydia  Maria  Child  was  older  than  either  of  the  two  last-named 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 

THE   CART-HORSE   GROUP 


NORTH   SIDE  MAIN   BASIN. 
BY  MESSRS.  E.  C.  POTTER  AND  D.  C.  FRENCH. 


IN   THE    WOMAN  S    BUILDING. 


125 


ladies,  having  been  born  in  1802;  but  her  beautiful  and  helpful  life 
was  a  long  one,  closing  only  in  1880,  so  that  we  may  think  of  her 
as  a  link  between  the  old  time  and  the  new.  Her  name  is  insepa- 
rably connected  with  the  anti-slavery  movement,  and  she  was  for 
many  years  editor  of  the  National  Anti-Slavery  Standard.  In 
other  fields  of  literature,  her  "  History  of  Rome  "  won  her  deserved 

renown,  while 
the  lovely  r  o  - 
mance  of  "Philo- 
thea"  is  still  read 
with  pleasure  by 
young  and  old. 

So  far  we  have 
dealt  only  with 
those  who  have 
won  their  promo- 
tion and  passed 
on  from  this  field 
of  work  to  anoth- 
er; but  the  next 
name  on  the  roll 
of  honor  is  that 
of  one  who  is  still 
living,  the  dean 
of  American  lit- 
erary women, 
Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe. 
Nearly  half  a 
century  has 
passed  since  the 
world  was  elec- 
trified by  the 
publication  of 
"Uncle  Tom's 

Cabin."  The  quiet,  hard-working  wife  of  the  country  parson  and 
professor  found  herself  suddenly  famous — raised  to  a  height  of 
popularity  which  might  well  have  turned  a  less  strong  and  sensible 
head;  but  one  does  not  learn  that  Mrs.  Stowe  was  ever  unduly 
elated  by  her  popularity,  or  that  either  hardship  or  prosperity 
could  shake  the  serene  composure  of  her  mind.  Of  late  years 


CARVED    WOOD    AND    LEATHER   CHAIR. 
MADE  BY  H.  R.  H.  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES.  ENGLAND. 


126 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


she  has  laid  down  the  pen,  and  passes  her  days  quietly  at  home, 
devoting  much  time  to  the  flowers  she  loves  so  fondly. 

Gladly  as  we  hold  the  thought  that  Mrs.  Stowe  is  still  with  us 
in  the  land  of  our  sojourn,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  she  belongs 
to  the  last  period  of  literature,  not  to  the  present.  It  is  in  the 
figure  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  that  we  must  greet  the  foremost 
literary  woman  of  to-day.  Though  she  has  long  years  to  look  back 
upon,  Mrs.  Howe  is  still  wholly  of  the  present,  and  her  clear  eyes 
look  forward  with  intelligent  comprehension  to  the  future.  She 
was  born  in  1819,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel 
Ward,  a  New  York 
merchant  of  the  old 
stately  school.  A  stu- 
dent all  her  life,  a 
writer  from  early 
childhood,  it  was  not 
till  some  years  after 
her  marriage  that  she 
thought  of  publishing 
any  of  her  work. 

She  has  told  the 
writer  how,  when  she 
was  perhaps  nineteen 
years  of  age,  she 
showed  some  of  her 
poems  to  Margaret 
Fuller,  at  the  request 
of  a  mutual  friend. 
Miss  Fuller  was  de- 
lighted with  them,  and 
eagerly  advised  Miss 
Ward  to  have  them 
published.  Mrs.  Howe  still  remembers  the  shock  this  suggestion 
gave  her.  It  was  still  considered  "  singular  "  for  a  woman  to  pub- 
lish her  writings.  It  was  out  of  the  question  for  Mr.  Ward's 
daughter  to  think  of  such  a  thing;  it  seemed  a  pity  that  Miss 
Fuller  should  even  have  suggested  it,  so  the  maiden  thought  at 
the  time.  Meanwhile  the  word  was  spoken,  the  seed  dropped,  to 
germinate  in  its  own  good  time,  and  blossom  in  unfading  beauty. 
Her  work  is  so  well  known  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  allude  to  it 
in  detail.  From  the  publication  of  "Passion  Flowers,"  in  1853, 


CARVED  WOOD  AND  LEATHER  STOOL. 
PRINCESS  VICTORIA  OF  WALES.    ENGLAND. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S    BUILDING. 


127 


down  to  the  present  day,  her  pen  has  never  been  idle,  her  voice 
never  silent  in  the  cause  of  progress  and  of  practical  Christianity. 
May  it  be  long  before  we  cease  to  follow  the  course  of  that  active 
pen,  to  listen  to  that  silver  voice! 

In  her  own  generation  Mrs.  Howe  stands  nearly  alone  among 
literary  women  in  this  country.  Fanny  Kemble  was  of  her  time, 
and,  though  not  of  us,  was  for  so  many  years  with  us  that  we  may 


SEAT  OF  STOOL  IN  LEATHER  WORK.    PRINCESS  VICTORIA  OF  WALES.    ENGLAND. 

perhaps  place  her  name  upon  our  roll.  Mrs.  Kemble's  "  Records 
of  a  Girlhood  "  and  "  Records  of  Later  Life  "  will  always  be  read 
with  delight;  and  she  has  also  given  us  some  tender  and  graceful 
poems.  That  brilliant  and  eventful  life  ended,  as  is  well  known, 
but  a  few  weeks  ago.  Another  contemporary  of  Mrs.  Howe's  is 
Mrs.  Edna  D.  Cheney,  whose  work  will  be  spoken  of  later. 

First  among  that  great  feminine  army  of  translators  who  trans- 


128 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


plant  the  flowers  of  foreign  thought  into  the  garden  of  our  litera- 
ture, stands  Miss  Katherine  Wormly,  whose  admirable  translations 
of  Balzac  have  introduced  the  great  French  novelist  to  a  new  world 
of  readers. 

Mrs.  James  T.  Fields  has  written  all  too  little,  to  speak  from 
the  standpoint  of  our  wishes,  yet  we  have  some  delightful  things 
from  her  pen — a  volume  of  poems,  "  Under  the  Olives";  "Asphodel," 
a  romance,  and  the  charming  reminiscences  of  famous  men,  which 
have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  magazines,  are  enough  to 
make  us  all  cry  for 
more ;  yet  we  are  glad 
and  grateful  for  these. 
Mrs.  Fields  is  a  promi- 
nent figure  of  literary 
Boston,  and  there  is 
no  house  more  de- 
lightful than  hers. 

But  now  the  plot 
thickens.  There  came 
a  day  when  it  no  long- 
er was  singular  for 
women  to  write.  Sud- 
denly it  came,  one 
hardly  knew  how;  the 
windows  of  the  House 
of  Woman  were  ' 
thrown  open,  and  in- 
stead  of  here  and 
there  a  single  lonely 
watcher  on  the  roof 
was  a  crowd  of  women 
leaning  out,  greeting 
the  fresh  air  with 
rapture,  eager  to  see,  to  hear,  and  more  especially  to  tell.  From 
this  moment  I  drop  all  attempt  at  chronological  arrangement  as 
invidious;  indeed,  I  can  do  little  more  than  mention  the  names 
that  come  thronging  to  my  mind.  The  living  must  give  place  to 
those  who  have  passed  from  our  knowledge. 

Helen  Hunt,  a  name  beloved  by  all,  has  slept  for  many  years 
beneath  her  cairn  in  the  West;  Emily  Dickinson,  dying  unknown, 
left  us  the  afterglow  of  her  strange,  secluded,  seething  life.  Even 
as  I  write,  the  bells  are  tolling  for  the  sweet  New  England  poetess 


CARVED    WOOD    AND    LEATHER    STOOL. 
PRINCESS  MAUD  OF  WALES.    ENGLAND. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


129 


and  noble  woman,  Lucy  Larcom,  whose  peaceful  life  has  ended 
peacefully  not  many  months  after  that  of  her  friend,  John  Green- 
leaf  Whittier.  Her  "  New  England  Girlhood  "  gives  us  glimpses 
of  a  life  that  it  is  good  to  know  about,  to  remember,  in  these  days 
when  luxury  and  the  love  of  it  grow  too  fast  upon  us;  and  some  of 
her  poems  find  an  honored  place  in  every  anthology  of  American 
poets. 

How  long  is  it  since  Louisa  Alcott  died?  four  years,  or  four 
weeks?  Her  memory  is  so  fresh  in  our  minds  it  is  hard  to  realize 
the  flight  of  time.  One  seldom  sees  a  fresh  copy  of  her  works;  they 


SEAT   OF   STOOL  IN   LEATHER   WORK.    PRINCESS  MAUD  OF  WALES.    ENGLAND. 

are  always  read  to  pieces,  thumbed  by  eager  schoolgirls,  marked 
with  enthusiastic  pencilings,  which  the  guardians  of  libraries  try  in 
vain  to  prevent.  But  widely  popular  as  her  stories  are,  we  feel  that 
the  woman  herself  was  finer  than  anything  she  wrote;  and  the 
heroic  figure  pictured  so  ably  and  so  lovingly  in  Mrs.  Cheney's 
admirable  life  of  Miss  Alcott  is  but  feebly  shadowed  forth  in  her 
own  writings. 

Mrs.  Louise  Chandler  Moulton  has  given  us  several  volumes  of 
poems  and  some  charming  stories,  of  which  one  set  in  particular, 

9 


130  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

the  "  Nightcap  "  series,  is  recalled  by  the  writer  with  tender  affec- 
tion. Mrs.  Rebecca  Harding  Davis  has  written  little  of  late  years, 
but  her  powerful  novels  have  won  her  an  enduring  place  in  litera- 
ture. Miss  Constance  Fenimore  Woolson,  to  whom  we  owe  the  joy 
of  "  East  Angels,"  not  to  be  forgotten;  Mrs.  Whitney,  Elizabeth 
Stuart  Phelps,  Gail  Hamilton,  Celia  Thaxter,  Harriet  Prescott 
Spofford,  Elizabeth  Stoddard — this  is  degenerating  into  a  mere  cat- 
alogue ;  but  what  is  a  poor  scribe  to  do,  who  is  limited  to  so  many 
words,  and  who  sees  ever  new  files  passing  before  her,  pen  in  hand, 
laurel  on  brow,  waving  the  foolscap  banner?  I  would  fain  dwell 
on  each  of  these  honored  names,  but  must  pass  on  to  others  no  less 
worthy  of  honor.  Mrs.  Burnett,  to  whom  the  crown  of  the  chil- 
dren's love  has  been  given  since  Miss  Alcott  laid  it  down;  Mrs.  Van 
Rensselaer,  Mrs.  Burton  Harrison,  "  Susan  Coolidge,"  Kate  Doug- 
las Wiggin,  Mary  Hallock  Foote,  and  those  sweet  singers,  Edith 
Thomas  and  Helen  Gray  Cone.  A  step  further  and  we  greet  Mrs. 
Deland,  "  Charles  Egbert  Craddock,"  and  those  three  who  string 
jewels  on  a  golden  thread,  the  queens  of  the  short  story,  Miss 
Jewett,  Miss  Wilkins,  and  Octave  Thanet. 

Following  these  come  Maud  Howe  Elliott  and  Louise  Imogen 
Guiney,  Amelie  Rives,  Agnes  Repplier,  and  Chicago's  poetess, 
Harriet  Monroe. 

But  now  I  can  no  more ;  and  I  feel  as  the  hostess  does  who  has 
tried  to  invite  all  her  acquaintance  to  an  entertainment.  If  it  is 
only  in  this  last  breath  that  I  speak  of  Mary  Hartwell  Catherwood 
and  Elizabeth  Cavazza;  if  it  is  only  now  that  I  greet  the  sweet  mem- 
ory of  Emma  Lazarus,  that  flower  of  Israel — it  is  not  because  I 
honor  them  less,  but  because  the  human  brain  has  limits,  while  the 
number  of  women  of  letters  to-day  has  none. 

Greeting  to  one  and  all,  and  love,  and  honor;  those  whom  I 
have  left  out,  sitting  at  the  world's  great  feast,  will  not  miss  the 
spoonful  of  victuals  that  I  unwittingly  deny  them;  those  of  whom  I 
have  spoken  will  pardon  the  brief  and  insufficient  mention. 

And  so,  roll-call  being  over,  the  Literary  Brigade  shoulders, 
pens,  raises  the  banner  once  more,  and  passes  on. 

LAURA  E.  RICHARDS. 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 

THE  LAGOON  DURING  A  REGATTA, 

LOOKING  NORTHEAST  TOWARD  THE  FISHERIES  BUILDING. 


> 


THE    LIBRARY. 


ONE  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  Woman's  Building 
is  the  library,  which  contains  the  writings  of  American  and 
foreign  women.  The  work  of  collecting  the  American  books 
was  done  by  committees  in  the  different  States.  Various  plans 
were  pursued  in  making  these  collections.  Massachusetts  held  that 
quality,  rather  than  quantity,  was  to  be  sought.  A  high  standard 
of  excellence  was  required,  and  in  most  cases  the  authors  were 
only  invited  to  send  one  of  their 
works.  The  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee, Margaret  Deland,  herself 
our  leading  woman  novelist,  pre- 
pared a  very  excellent  catalogue, 
which  accompanied  Massachusetts' 
small  and  valuable  exhibit.  This 
catalogue  includes  2,000  books, 
written  by  Massachusetts  women 
between  the  years  of  1612  and 
1893.  It  will  therefore  be  seen 
that  while  the  Bay  State  might 
have  sent  2,000  books,  she  con- 
tented herself  with  sending  one 
hundred. 

As  New  York  has  made  the 
largest  collection,  a  statement  of 
the  plan  pursued  by  its  literary 
committee  has  been  prepared  by 
the  chairman.  The  library  is  an  exhibit  rather  than  a  working 
library,  and  the  catalogue,  which  has  been  very  carefully  prepared, 
will  prove  one  of  its  most  interesting  features.  The  arrangement  of 
the  shelves  shows  the  number  of  books  sent  by  the  different  States 
and  countries,  so  that,  at  a  glance,  the  visitor  may  see  that  Belgium 
is  well  represented,  and  that  France,  Germany,  and  Great  Britain 
lead  among  the  foreign  collections;  that  New  Hampshire  has  given 
itself  very  little  trouble,  and  New  York  a  great  deal.  The  cata- 

(133) 


PAINTING  — "A  SELLREIN  WOMAN." 

BARONESS  MARIANNE  ESCHENBURG. 

AUSTRIA. 


134 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


logue  is  so  arranged  that  a  very  cursory  examination  will  show  the 
subjects  with  which  women  writers  have  chiefly  dealt.  An  index 
of  authors  gives  many  details  of  each  writer's  professional  life. 


BLACK   AND    WHITE    ILLUSTRATION-"  IN    THE    MEETING    HOUSE. 
A.  B.  STEPHENS.    UNITED  STATES. 


showing  the  line  of  work  to  which  she  has  devoted  herself,  and 
any  honors  that  she  may  have  won. 

The  English  books  deserve  careful  examination.  They  are 
accompanied  by  some  very  valuable  manuscripts;  among  others  we 
may  see  the  handwriting  of  Maria  Edgeworth,  Miss  Burney,  Jane 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  135 

Austin,  Mrs.  Gaskell,  Charlotte  Bronte,  and  George  Eliot.  The 
first  page  of  Adam  Bede,  with  an  affectionate  note  of  dedication  to 
George  Lewes,  signed  Marian  Lewes,  dated  1859,  *s  one  °f  the  most 
interesting  objects  in  the  World's  Fair.  In  the  same  case  with 
these  precious  manuscripts  may  be  seen  three  fine  editions  of  the 
"  Boke  of  St.  Albans,"  by  Dame  Juliana  Berners. 

Germany  has  been  wonderfully  generous  to  us,  and  her  500 
admirably  selected  and  beautifully  bound  volumes  are  a  gift  from 
the  women  of  Germany. 

Spain  sends  us  a  treasure  of  old  and  rare  books  and  priceless 
manuscripts. 

Bohemia  has  307  volumes,  and  France  800. 

One  of  the  valuable  features  of  the  collection  in  our  library  is  the 
large  number  of  pamphlets  and  monographs  on  professional  and 
scientific  subjects.  All  women  who  have  published  papers  of  this 
description  are  earnestly  invited  to  send  copies  of  their  work  to  the 
librarian  of  the  Woman's  Building.  The  visitor  will  find  volumes 
written  by  women  from  Japan,  Turkey,  Finland,  Sweden,  Italy, 
Germany,  France,  Bohemia,  Belgium,  Cuba,  Peru,  and  Austria,  and 
one  volume  in  Arabic,  by  an  American  missionary.  Many  of  the 
States  and  countries  represented  have  given  their  collection  to  the 
Library  of  Woman's  Work,  which  is  to  be  established  in  the  per- 
manent Woman's  Building,  to  the  erection  of  which  all  who  have 
labored  for  our  building  look  forward. 

A  card  catalogue  of  the  books,  which  now  number  7,000,  is  being 
arranged,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Edith  E.  Clarke.  No  author 
who  has  examined  the  careful  and  beautiful  arrangement  of  the 
catalogue  would  be  satisfied  to  remain  unrepresented  in  it.  We 
earnestly  beg  all  women  writers,  who  have  not  already  done  so,  to 
contribute  their  books  on  whatever  subject. 

In  this  connection  it  seems  well  to  call  attention  to  the  very 
large  field  of  work  which  opens  for  women  as  librarians.  There  is 
no  department  of  human  labor  for  which  our  American  girls  are 
better  fitted  than  to  the  careful,  patient,  exact  profession  of  the 
librarian.  Mr.  Melville  Dewey  of  the  State  Library  at  Albany 
gives,  as  the  result  of  his  experience,  the  statement  that  our  young 
women  are  better  fitted  for  this  work  than  their  brothers.  We 
learn  from  him  that  there  is  an  ever-increasing  demand  for  women 
librarians. 

Owing  to  the  unavoidable  delay  attending  the  arrangement  of 
the  library,  it  has  been  impossible  to  secure  the  necessary  data  for 
the  preparation  of  an  article  which  does  justice  to  this  most 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


137 


important  department.  These  few  rough  notes,  made  when  our 
volume  is  already  in  press,  are  entirely  inadequate  to  the  subject. 
They  are  made  in  the  hope  that  they  may  call  the  attention  of  the 
visitor  to  a  most  interesting  and  valuable  feature  of  our  building. 

The  following  statement  of  the  number  of  books  received  at  our 
library  was  made  on  the  3oth  day  of  May,  1893: 


Alabama 

Alaska 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut ... 

Delaware 

District  of  Columbia- . 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho  

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas . 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine    

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota  _ . 


'64  Mississippi 4 

Missouri 3 

Montana . . 

i  Nebraska  _ 20 

9  Nevada  

46  New  Hampshire.    .    .        3 

in  New  Jersey .    .     350 

8  New  Mexico . 

100  New  York 2,500 

8  North  Carolina.    26 

0  North  Dakota 

Ohio. _ 96 

100  Oregon u 

1  Pennsylvania  _ 400 

2  Rhode  Island . .   45 

3  South  Carolina 13 

6  South  Dakota 

72  Tennessee 

42  Texas 27 

56  Utah 

loo  Vermont 

24  Virginia 14 

34 


Washington 

West  Virginia 5 

Wisconsin 4 

Wyoming 

Arabia 

Belgium 350 

Bohemia 307 

Cuba  (included  in  Spain). 

Denmark 

Finland i 

France Coo 

Germany  (gift) .  500 

Great  Britain 500 

Italy  (gift  —  more  are 

coming) 150 

Japan 50 

Mexico ...  9 

Peru i 

Portugal . 

Spain 300 

Sweden 130 

Turkey i 

THE  EDITOR. 


DESIGNS   FOR    LACE.    NINA  FRENCH.    UNITED  STATES. 


NEW    YORK    LITERARY    EXHIBIT. 


THE  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Literature  of  the  Board  of 
Women  Managers  of  the  State  of  New  York  has  organized 
and  instituted  an  exhibit  differing  somewhat  in  character 
from  any  other  in  the  library.  It  contains  three  departments:  First, 
women's  work  in  the  writing  and  translating  of  books;  second, 
their  work  in  liter- 
ary clubs  and  classes; 
and  third,  their  work 
in  journalism  and  in 
periodical  literature. 
The  collection  of 
books,  which  num- 
bers 2,400  volumes, 
was  made  by  the 
Wednesday  After- 
noon Club  of  New 
York,  which  contrib- 
uted $1,000  to  this 
end.  We  have  at- 
tempted to  make 
an  historic,  chrono- 
logic collection  of 
all  the  books  ever 
written  by  women 
either  residents  or 
natives  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  It  is  believed  that  this  will  prove  of  benefit  to 
future  students  of  literature  and  lovers  of  Americana.  It  is  a  col- 
lection limited  both  by  sex  and  locality,  but  valuable  because  of  its 
completeness  within  these  limits.  The  Committee  of  the  Wednes- 
day Afternoon  Club,  under  the  efficient  chairmanship  of  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Ferris  Thompson,  aided  by  Mrs.  Charles  Royce,  Miss  Willard, 
Mrs.  Richard  Ewart,  Mrs.  Alfred  Corning  Clark,  Mrs.  Junius 


SEAL  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE  BOARD. 
LYDIA  EMMET.    (Copyrighted.) 


140 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


Henri  Browne,  and  others,  with  the  special  support  and  aid 
of  Mrs.  Runkle,  the  brilliant  literary  critic  of  New  York  and 
the  president  of  the  club,  has  done  a  very  thorough  and  ex- 
haustive work.  Great  assistance  has  been  rendered  by  the  com- 
mittees in  each  county  of  the  State,  by  several  of  the  well- 
known  publishers,  and  by  most  of  the  authors  represented. 
The  collection  contains  children's  books,  works  of  fiction, 
science,  cookery,  and  household  economics,  education,  language, 
translation,  original  verse,  compiled  verse,  travels,  biography,  his- 


CARVED   OAK   MIRROR   FRAME.     Miss  REEKS.     ENGLAND. 

tory,  art,  and  religion.  The  oldest  book  is  a  novel,  "  The  Female 
Quixote,"  by  Charlotte  Ramsay  Lennox,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  native-born  author  of  the  province  of  New  York.  This 
young  girl  at  the  age  of  sixteen  went  from  the  wild-beast-ridden, 
Indian-haunted  wilds  of  the  west,  in  the  province  of  New  York,  to 
the  gay  metropolis  of  London.  Here  she  was  much  courted  and 
feted.  Among  her  admirers  were  Smollet,  Fielding,  Richardson, 
and  Doctor  Johnson — the  latter  wrote  epilogues  and  prologues  for 
her  plays,  championed  her  novels  and  poems,  and  made  her  the  fash- 
ion of  the  hour.  From  this  eighteenth  century  beginning  we  may 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


141 


trace  the  evolution  of  American  fiction  through  the  writers  of  the 
sentimental  school,  Mrs.  Ellett,  Mrs.  Embury,  and  Mrs.  Pindah; 
through  the  works  of  Caroline  Cheseboro,  Mrs.  Kirkland,  and  the 
earlier  writings  of  Grace  Greenwood,  to  the  novel  which  portrays 
the  manners  of  our  own  day — the  pleasing,  graceful  stories  of 
Amelia  Barr,  Grace  Litchfield,  Mary  Hallock  Foote;  the  society 
studies  of  Mrs.  Burton  Harrison  and  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer  Cru- 
ger,  and  the  character  studies  and  sketches  of  Augusta  Lamed 
and  Maria  Louisa  Pool.  There  are  eighty-one  volumes  of  chil- 
dren's serials;  conspicuous  among  them  are  those  of  Mary  Mapes 
Dodge,  "who,"  Mrs.  Thompson  says,  in  her  Wednesday  After- 
noon Club  report,  "slid  into  celebrity  upon  the  silver  skates  of 
*  Hans  Brinker,'  "  and  who  has  been  long  and  honorably  known  as 


CARVED   WOOD   PANEL.    UNITED  STATES. 


the  editor  of  St.  Nicholas.  Many  valuable  books  command  atten- 
tion in  the  department  of  the  "  Miscellanies."  Notable  among 
these  are  "  Musical  Instruments  and  Their  Homes,"  by  Mrs.  Julia 
Crosby  Brown;  a  very  complete  collection  of  the  works  of  Miss 
Catherine  Beecher;  a  "  History  of  French  Painting,"  by  Mrs.  J.  S.  T. 
Stranahan,  and  thirty-one  volumes  by  Lydia  Maria  Child.  It  is  of 
interest  to  note  that  one  of  the  few  Afro-Americans  connected 
with  the  World's  Fair,  in  an  official  way,  is  a  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Board  of  Women  Managers,  who  volunteered  to  collect 
the  works  of  Mrs.  Child  as  a  tribute  from  the  blacks  to  her  noble 
work  in  the  anti-slavery  cause.  A  very  interesting  department  is 
made  up  of  books  written  by  New  York  women  in  foreign  tongues. 
Among  these  there  are  "  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  in  Burmese, 
by  Mrs.  Judson;  the  "  Standard  Dictionary  of  the  Swatow  Dialect," 


142  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

"  The  Life  of  Christ,"  and  a  volume  of  translations  of  some  of  the 
most  familiar  English  hymns,  in  this  dialect,  by  Miss  Adele  Field; 
"  The  Peep  of  Day,"  in  Arabic,  by  Ellen  Jackson  Foote;  "  Early 
Church  History"  and  "  Legends  of  Helena,  and  Monica  the  Mother 
of  St.  Augustine,"  in  Hindustani,  by  Mrs.  Humphrey;  a  number  of 
books  written  in  German  by  Talvi  (Mrs.  Edward  Robinson) — many 
of  these  have  great  literary  and  historical  value;  and  one  translation 
from  English  into  French,  entitled  "  Dans  un  Phare."  In  scientific 
literature  we  have  an  especially  valuable  collection  of  medical  works 
by  the  women  doctors  of  the  State,  while  in  the  219  volumes  of  orig- 
inal verse,  many  well-known  songs  and  lyrics  are  to  be  found.  Con- 
spicuous among  these  are  "  Rocked  in  the  Cradle  of  the  Deep,"  by 
Mrs.  Anna  Willard;  "  Rock  Me  to  Sleep,  Mother,"  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Akers  Allen;  "  One  Sweetly  Solemn  Thought,"  by  Phcebe  Carey; 
"  I  Love  to  Steal  Awhile  Away,"  by  Mrs.  Francis  Brown;  and 
last  and  best  known,  the  famous  lyric,  "  The  Battle  Hymn  of  the 
Republic,"  by  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  In  history  we  have  the 
"  Standard  Colonial  History  of  New  York,"  by  Mrs.  Martha  J. 
Lamb;  the  "History  of  Woman  Suffrage,"  by  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
and  the  "  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,"  by  Mrs.  Alice  Morse 
Earle. 

These  books,  with  many  others  of  great  value  and  interest,  form 
only  the  first  part  of  the  New  York  exhibit.     The 
second  part  consists  of  a  showing  of  the  work  of; 
seventy-five  literary  clubs  and  classes  in  the  State.  I 
These    records    are   type-written,    and    beautifully' 
bound   in   leather   covers  bearing  the  seal   of  the 
State.     Each  volume  contains   the  constitution,  by- 
laws, list  of  members,  and  history  of  the  club,  with ! 
four  representative  papers,  written  by  its  members. ' 
These  hang  upon  a  standard  at  one  extremity  of 

BOSTON 

the  bookshelves.  These  records  have  been  collected  COLLECTION. 
and  installed  by  Sorosis,  which  has  served  as  a  sub-  UNITED  STATES- 
committee  for  the  Board  of  Women  Managers.  Another  stand- 
ard holds  thirty-nine  folios,  bound  like  the  club  folios,  except 
that  the  seal  is  white  instead  of  blue.  On  these  two  posts 
there  are  practically  four  exhibits  in  one.  Two  of  the  folios 
contain  a  list  of  3,000  names  of  the  women  of  the  State  who 
have  contributed  to  the  press,  while  a  third  volume  holds  a 
list  of  editors  and  assistant  editors.  These  records  have  been 
prepared  by  the  Buffalo  Graduates  Club,  to  show  the  impor- 
tant part  New  York  women  take  in  periodical  literature.  A  literary 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


143 


council  was  formed,  with  Mrs.  Runkle  as  chairman.  The  field  of 
periodical  literature  was  analyzed  and  divided  into  its  most  con- 
spicuous departments.  A  woman  who  is  an  authority  in  each  of 
these  lines  of  work  was  asked  to  make  a  collection  of  the  most 
brilliant  articles  written  by  New  York  women  on  these  various 
subjects,  the  collections  being  as  far  as  possible  chronological. 
There  are  thirty-four  of  these  little  volumes,  each  a  charming  and 
interesting  book 
in  itself.  Messrs. 
Harper  &  Bros, 
are  about  to  pub- 
lish six  of  these 
folios  in  book 
form,  under  the 
title  "  The  Distaff 
Series."  The 
thirty-nine  folios 
which  hang  upon 
this  post  are  also 
an  exhibit  of 
model  type-writ- 
ing. This  work, 
done  by  Miss  Lou- 
ise Conklin  of 
New  York,  with 
expert  assistants, 
is  a  most  beauti- 
ful illustration  of 
the  fact  that  any 
craft  may  become 
an  art  through 
the  perfection  of 
its  execution . 
This  work  has 
been  prepared  by 
the  Board  of  Women  Managers  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  prove  an  ornament  to  the  woman's  library,  which 
is  the  gift  of  their  State  to  the  Woman's  Building,  and  that  it  may 
permanently  benefit  working-women,  for  whose  labor  in  many 
directions  it  fixes  a  standard. 

BLANCHE  WILDER  BELLAMY. 


OIL   PAINTING— LANDSCAPE.     FRAU  SCHROEDER.     GERMANY. 


PANEL— "  INFLUENCE  OF  WOMAN  IN  THE  ARTS.    SHE  WEEPS  WITH  THE  POET, 
CONSOLES  HIM,  AND  GLORIFIES  HIM."    FRANCE. 


PANEL— "THE  ARTS  OF  WOMAN-    To  LOVE,  TO  PLEASE,  AND  DEVOTE  HERSELF. 


10 


FRANCE. 


EVOLUTION    OF    WOMEN'S    EDUCATION    IN    THE 
UNITED    STATES. 

WHILE  the  people  of  Massachusetts  were  still  living  in  log 
huts,  the  school  had  its  separate  home,  and  as  early  as  1642 
the  selectmen  of  every  town  were  "  required  to  have  a  vigi- 
lant eye  over  their  brethren  and  neighbors,  to  see  that  nono  of  them 
shall  suffer  so  much  barbarism  in  their  families  as  not  to  endeavor  to 
teach,  by  themselves  or  others,  their  children  and  apprentices  so 
much  learning  as  may  enable  them  to  read  the  English  tongue  and 
•obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  capital  laws,  upon  penalty  of  twenty  shil- 
lings for  each  neglect  therein,"  and  one  man  must  be  spared  from  the 
plow  and  the  gun,  "  to  teach,  in  every  township  whose  number  had 
increased  to  fifty  households."  This  led  to  the  district  school, 
which  served  the  early  scattering  communities  well,  but  was  a  hin- 
drance at  a  later  period. 

The  principle  that  the  education  of  the  people  is  the  safeguard 
•of  the  State  was  at  once  recognized,  and  also  the  right  of  the  State  to 
compel  the  attention  of  parents  to  it.  Religious  and  industrial  instruc- 
tion were  provided  for,  and  thus  the  great  questions  which  are  now 
taking  the  lead  in  our  country  were  anticipated  in  the  beginning 
l>y  those  whom  Macaulay  calls  "  the  men  illustrious  forever  in 
history,  the  founders  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts." 

And  equally  with  the  firm  foundation  for  rudimentary  instruc- 
tion, the  higher  education  was  kept  in  mind,  and  provision  made 
for  the  high  or  Latin  school,  leading  up  to  the  university. 

But,  provident  as  our  fathers  were,  they  did  not  foresee  the  part 
which  women  were  to  take  in  the  future  life  of  the  Republic,  and 
failed  to  provide  for  their  public  education  on  the  same  broad  basis 
as  that  of  men.  And  yet  Mary  Dyer  and  Anne  Hutchinson  intro- 
duced the  woman  question  into  the  councils  of  the  colony,  and  so 
opened  it  that  it  has  been  kept  open  till  this  hour,  when  it  is  still 
awaiting  an  answer  from  the  justice  of  the  State. 

But  while  the  colony  made  little  provision  for  the  education  of 
women,  yet,  as  many  of  them  came  from  the  best  class  in  England, 
much  attention  was  paid  to  the  private  instruction  of  the  daughters 

(147) 


148 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


of  good  families.  Anne  Dudley  Bradstreet  published  a  volume  of 
poems  in  1650,  although  she  records  in  her  verse  the  opposition 
made  to  her  literary  occupation. 

The  public  schools  established  in  1635  made  small  provision  for 
women,  and  even  in  1789,  when  both  sexes  were  to  be  admitted,  the 


i^fe..iW; 


%-    *£MS\1,\      \L  **'/-"»     *W       \ 

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X,  .^V-^--*-'*  7 

W'±  Xt/*^-"X 


r 

fc^l^f^^pJ/iM  /^:' 
K^lifflfot?^^    ^^l^- 

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^;;  ^^^^^:^^^ 

iSfes •••7'  ^S^Kf  ^V"  £^  --N       .  :f^5>X> 

\  ^^  >         v.    ;v    •?^^»*  f1'       •  ?'   '^'-  **/'•  •••-'•o'i   "'5  ''C^'^f  y'"™'y<-'r<j 

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*-   — w  -  ^  ->3!Hffifer'  *   *• 


.vr, 
*>**•&  Jt* 


SKETCH  FOR  WINDOW.    A.  F.  NORTHROP.  UNITED  STATES. 


girls  could  only  attend  from  April  to  October.  The  rule  which 
was  adopted,  "  that  no  children  under  seven  years  should  be 
received  in  the  schools,"  proved  advantageous  to  women,  for,  as 
many  thought  instruction  needful  for  children  at  an  earlier  age, 
Sunday-schools  added  secular  instruction  to  their  religious  work, 


IN    THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


149 


and  as  these  schools  were  under  the  care  of  female  teachers,  a  body 
of  experienced  women  were  ready  to  take  charge  of  the  primary 
schools  when  they  were  established,  thus  introducing  the  employ- 
ment of  women  as  teachers,  which  forms  so  marked  a  feature  in 
our  schools.  The  charity  schools  also  helped  to  correct  the 


ENAMELED   CUP— "THE   FOUR   SEASONS."    MARIE  LOUVET.    FRANCE. 


inequality  in  the  education  of  boys  and  girls,  as  they  were  in  most 
instances  established  by  ladies  for  girls  only. 

While  speaking  of  primary  education  I  should  mention  its  last 
development  in  the  "  Kindergarten,"  which  was  begun  in  Boston, 
from  whence  it  has  spread  over  the  country.  Miss  Elizabeth  P. 
Peabody,  whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  education,  first  introduced 
Froebel's  system  into  this  country  by  a  small  kindergarten,  estab- 
lished in  Boston  in  1861.  Mrs.  Pauline  Agassiz  Shaw  established 
and  supported  for  fifteen  years  sixteen  free  kindergartens,  which 


150  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

she  eventually  presented,  fully  equipped,  to  the  city  of  Boston, 
Mrs.  Shaw  has  initiated  and  carried  on,  at  her  own  expense  and 
under  her  active  supervision,  experiments  and  instruction  in 


COSTUME  OF  A  YOUNG  GIRL  OP  THE  ISLE  OP  AMAGER.     DENMARK. 

manual  training  for  public-school  children,  normal  classes  in  kin- 
dergarten, and  manual  training  for  teachers,  as  well  as  industrial 
schools,  vacation  schools,  and  day-nurseries  for  the  poor  children  in 
the  crowded  districts  of  Boston.  She  is  now  supplementing  this 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


151 


work  by  liberal  university-extension  plans  for  the  benefit  of  the 
same  localities.     Mrs.  Shaw's  private  preparatory  school  for  boy? 


SCREEN  — DESIGN   IN  NATIONAL  STYLE.    K.  PETRE.     SWEDEN. 

and  girls  holds  a  unique  position  among  educational  institutions. 
In  the  course  of  study  pursued,  the  natural  sciences  and  their 
co-relation  with  all  other  branches  of  education  hold  an  important 


152  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

place.  The  value  of  Mrs.  Shaw's  work  can  hardly  be  overesti- 
mated, it  is  so  far-reaching  in  its  wisdom  and  its  influence.  Miss 
Blow  has  done  a  similar  work  for  St.  Louis  and  the  West. 

The  "  grammar  schools "  have  always  furnished  the  most 
important  part  of  instruction  to  the  mass  of  people  in  Massachu- 
setts. They  were  open  to  girls,  but  under  varying  conditions. 
The  question  of  co-education  of  the  sexes  was  differently  settled, 
according  to  the  prejudices  of  school  boards  or  the  local  condition 
of  the  school. 

At  the  present  time  great  differences  in  this  respect  may  be 
found.  In  some  towns  all  the  schools  are  alike  open  to  both  sexes; 
in  others  the  two  unite  in  the  primary  school,  are  separated  in  the 
grammar  schools,  and  come  together  again  in  the  high  school. 
The  high  schools  are  generally  open  to  both  sexes,  except  in  the 
old  part  of  Boston,  where  ancient  prejudice  leads  to  the  duplication 
of  the  high  and  Latin  schools,  and  in  some  towns  where  an 
endowed  school  for  girls  was  already  in  existence. 

While  the  public  schools  were  thus  progressing,  both  in  their 
methods  of  work  and  their  relation  to  women,  it  would  be  unfair 
not  to  recognize  the  service  done  by  many  large  private  schools 
and  academies,  some  of  which  have  retained  public  confidence  for 
many  years,  advancing  with  the  demands  of  the  times.  Without 
detracting  from  the  merits  of  others,  I  would  specially  name  the 
Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary,  founded  by  Mary  Lyon  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State.  This  was  originally  established  in  the  interest  of  the 
(so  called)  Evangelical  churches,  and  its  object  was  understood  to 
be  to  train  women  for  mission  life,  as  the  wives  of  missionaries 
going  out  to  foreign  service. 

But,  however  much  this  purpose  narrowed  the  scope  of  instruc- 
tion in  its  earlier  days,  the  institution  has  broadened  and  liberal- 
ized until  now  it  has  lately  received  the  charter  of  a  college,  and 
its  graduates  are  often  highly  accomplished  in  branches  not 
specially  adapted  to  work  among  the  heathens. 

Its  original  plan,  like  that  of  Wellesley  College,  contemplated 
the  union  of  industrial  labor  with  study,  and  so  made  a  valuable 
contribution  toward  the  discussion  of  the  question  now  so  promi- 
nent— industrial  education.  The  academies  generally  admitted 
both  sexes,  and  thus  naturally  solved  the  question  of  co-education. 
President  Eliot  once  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  improve- 
ment of  these  endowed  academies  was  the  best  method  of  giving 
women  all  the  higher  education  they  needed.  But  there  was  a 
dangerous  tendency  in  them  to  desultory  work  and  a  want  of 


HANGINGS    EMBROIDERED    IN    THE    SCHOOL    OF    MME.    LUCE    BEN-ABEN. 
MOORISH  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  OF  ALGIERS. 


154  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

definite  aim,  either  in  preparation  for  a  profession  or  in  fitting  for 
a  college  education,  which  made  them  less  valuable  to  women  than 
the  public  schools. 

In  the  larger  towns  and  cities  were  many  private  schools  of  more 
or  less  excellence,  and  they  are  still  improving  in  their  methods 
and  doing  much  good  work,  although  I  agree  with  the  opinion 
expressed  by  a  foreign  educator  who  came  to  study  our  schools, 
that  the  best  of  them  are  not  equal  in  scope  and  thoroughness  to 
our  public  schools. 

The  next  important  step  was  much  more  practical  than  the 
establishment  of  academies,  and  was  directly  under  the  control  of 
the  State.  Already  in  New  York  normal  teaching  had  been  estab- 
lished by  appropriating  the  excess  of  the  annual  revenue  of  the 
Library  Fund  to  the  academies  for  this  purpose.  On  March  12, 
1838,  Horace  Mann  reported  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  that 
"  private  munificence  had  placed  conditionally  at  his  disposal  the 
sum  of  $10,000,  to  be  disbursed  under  the  Board  of  Education  in 
qualifying  teachers  of  our  public  schools."  The  question  at  once 
arose,  "  Should  the  board  establish  special  schools,  or  attempt  to 
engraft  the  department  for  the  qualification  of  teachers  upon  the 
existing  academies?  "  Mr.  Mann  opposed  the  latter  plan,  as  the 
new  department  would  be  a  secondary  interest  in  the  academy,  and 
added:  "  The  course  of  studies  commonly  pursued  at  the  academies 
consists  rather  in  an  extension  of  knowledge  into  the  higher 
departments  of  science  than  in  reviewing  and  thoroughly  and 
critically  mastering  the  rudiments  or  elementary  branches  of 
knowledge."  Still  more,  Mr.  Mann  maintains  the  superiority 
of  the  female  teacher  over  the  male  in  instructing  young  children, 
and  claims  that  the  board  had  acted  wisely  "  in  appropriating  their 
first  normal  school  exclusively  to  the  qualification  of  female  teach- 
ers," a  proof  of  his  belief  "  in  the  relative  efficiency  of  the  female 
sex  in  the  ministry  of  civilization."  The  result  of  these  institu- 
tions is  seen  in  the  improvement  of  the  schools  of  Massachusetts, 
and  the  employment  of  the  large  force  of  women  as  teachers.  The 
first  normal  school  for  women  was  established  at  Lexington,  in  1839. 

In  Massachusetts  76  per  cent  of  the  teachers  employed  in  the 
public  schools  were  women  as  early  as  1858,  and  the  enrollment  of 
women  in  the  normal  schools  for  the  last  thirteen  years -has  varied 
from  83  to  95  per  cent.  The  willingness  of  women  to  work  for  less 
pay  than  men  has  contributed  to  their  employment,  but  even  when 
chosen  from  this  motive,  the  work  has  proved  so  satisfactory  as  to 
lead  to  consideration  of  the  question  of  equal  wages  for  equal  work. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


155 


As  yet  there  appears  no  very  encouraging  improvement  in  the 
salary  of  the  average  teacher,  which  about  equals  that  of  a  weaver 
in  a  cotton  mill,  yet  as  women  are  advanced  to  higher  positions, 


SPREAD    AND    PILLOW    COVER.    M.  CROUVEZIER.    FRANCE. 

and  salaries  are  increased  in  proportion  to  length  of  service,  there 
are  some  teachers  sufficiently  paid  to  encourage  the  devotion  of  the 
best  talent  to  this  service. 

The  result  of  the  normal  teaching  is  well  expressed  in  the  47th 


156  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

Massachusetts  Report:  "  The  returns  prove  what  reason  would 
predict,  that  there  is  the  same  difference  between  trained  and 
untrained  teachers  as  in  all  other  occupations  and  professions." 

While  established  mainly  to  provide  competent  teachers,  the 
normal  system  has  benefited  women  by  introducing  them  into  an 
admirable  field  of  employment  with  special  training.  It  used  to 
be  a  current  saying:  "  If  a  father  dies,  the  daughter  goes  to  the 
normal  school."  The  lesson  of  preparation  was  sadly  needed  by 
women.  Education  as  a  training  for  a  distinct  calling  was  almost 
unknown  among  them.  They  were  supposed  to  kn  .w  "  by  intui- 
tion," and  they  gained  such  knowledge  as  became  necessary  in 
practical  life  in  a  hap-hazard  way,  going  mostly  to  the  hard  school 
of  Experience,  whose  lessons  are  indeed  valuable,  but  often  pur- 
chased at  a  terrible  price.  The  great  business  of  housekeeping 
was  committed  to  women,  but  no  training  in  chemistry  or  sanitary 
laws,  or  economy  of  food  or  fuel,  was  considered  necessary  to 
prepare  her  for  the  work. 

She  was  the  nurse  of  the  sick,  and  often,  in  early  days,  the  mid- 
wife and  doctor,  but  she  was  only  furnished  with  a  rude  mass  of 
traditional  or  empirical  knowledge,  which  had  no  basis  in  scientific 
reasoning. 

She  only  knew  of  law  by  feeling  its  hand  heavy  upon  her,  and, 
like  Anne  Hutchinson,  found  it  perilous  to  think  freely  for  herself 
in  matters  of  religion.  Even  in  artistic  pursuits  the  idea  of  train- 
ing had  hardly  entered  her  mind.  It  was  indeed  necessary  to 
spend  many  hours  at  the  piano  to  accomplish  playing  the  "  Battle  of 
Prague "  with  the  necessary  dash,  but  nobody  dreamed  of  any 
acquaintance  with  the  science  of  music;  and  as  regards  drawing, 
when  the  School  of  Design  for  women  was  opened  in  1851,  the 
young  applicants  were  appalled  on  learning  that  six  months'  train- 
ing would  be  required  before  they  could  hope  for  remunerative 
employment. 

But  one  step  leads  to  another,  and  having  once  tasted  the 
delights  of  learning,  women  were  not  content  with  the  academy 
and  high  school,  when  they  saw  their  brothers  going  to  the 
university. 

Two  important  colleges  for  women,  Wellesley  and  Smith,  have 
been  endowed  by  private  gifts.  They  are  both  flourishing  and 
doing  good  service;  but  of  greater  moment  was  the  opening  of 
Boston  University  in  1871,  which  gives  to  women  equal  opportu- 
nity with  men  in  all  departments,  and  the  opening  of  the  Institute 
of  Technology  to  women  on  perfectly  equal  terms  with  men. 


OIL   PAINTING  — "MOLLY'S   BALL   DRESS."    KATE  PERUGINI.  ENGLAND. 


158  ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 

These  institutions  are  quietly  carrying  on  their  work,  and  educat- 
ing many  women  for  teaching  and  professional  life.  Tufts  College 
lias  followed  their  good  example. 

The  Harvard  Annex,  as  it  is  usually  called,  is  a  somewhat 
anomalous  institution,  having  no  connection  with  the  university 
of  that  name,  except  that  its  professors,  at  their  own  pleasure,  give 
lectures  to  the  students.  It  is  not  a  regular  college  conferring 
•degrees,  but  its  standard  is  high,  its  instruction  good,  and  it  is  thus 
helping  the  higher  education  of  women.  I  hope  it  will  soon  lead 
our  most  venerable  university,  for  whose  good  name  we  are  natu- 
rally jealous,  to  open  its  doors  to  the  women  of  Massachusetts, 
who  have  done  so  much  for  it  in  the  past  and  the  present  time. 

The  opening  of  Boston  University  in  all  its  branches  has 
superseded  the  necessity  of  separate  schools  for  women  in  law  and 
medicine.  Its  medical  school  is  very  flourishing,  but  it  is  greatly 
to  be  hoped  that  the  Harvard  Medical  School  will  soon  admit 
women,  as  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  has  already  done. 
The  training  schools  for  nurses  are  rapidly  increasing,  and  the  New 
England  Hospital  gives  opportunity  for  clinical  study. 

In  plastic  art  and  music  the  way  is  freely  opened  by  many 
admirable  schools. 

The  introduction  of  the  teaching  of  cooking,  sewing,  and  gym- 
nastic instruction  into  the  public  schools,  which  was  accomplished 
through  the  private  beneficence  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hemenway,  and  of 
sanitary  chemistry  in  the  Institute  of  Technology,  are  leading  up 
to  a  genuine  training  for  the  important  business  of  household 
management,  which  should  take  its  place  among  honorable  and 
remunerative  occupations.  A  club  within  the  Association  of  Col- 
legiate Alumnae  has  made  a  special  study  of  this  subject,  doing 
admirable  work  in  it.  Mrs.  Hemenway  is  a  citizen  whom  Boston 
delights  to  honor.  Besides  the  great  outlay  of  time,  energy,  and 
capital  made  in  the  industrial  improvement  of  our  school  system, 
she  has  for  several  years  supported  a  course  of  free  lectures  on 
American  history,  at  the  Old  South  Church,  and  has  founded  and 
supported  several  educational  institutions  in  the  Southern  States. 

An  important  object-lesson  in  the  political  education  of  women 
is  furnished  by  the  attainment  of  suffrage  in  the  choice  of  school 
committees,  the  appointment  in  a  single  year  of  some  hundred  and 
fifty  women  to  this  office  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  election  of 
women  as  supervisors,  superintendents,  and  on  the  Board  of  Edu_ 
cation.  This  reform  is  rapidly  spreading  throughout  many  States. 

It  being  impossible  to  treat  the  question  of  woman's  education 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 

EASTERN   FA9ADE   OF  THE   ELECTRICITY   BUILDING. 

DOME  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  BUILDING  IN  THE  DISTANCE.    VIEWED  FROM  THE  MAIN  BASIN. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  161 

throughout  the  country  in  the  brief  space  allowed,  I  have  given 
the  story  of  its  development  in  Massachusetts  as  enabling  me  to 
present  it  in  a  more  clear  and  connected  form,  and  also  because  the 
roots  of  the  whole  system  were  planted  in  this  colony,  which  was 
more  truly  representative  of  the  future  America  perhaps  than  any 
other. 

But  the  march  of  education,  as  of  empire,  "westward  takes  it 
way,"  and  since  the  opening  of  the  great  regions  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  to  settlement,  the  school-house  and  the  school-book — nor- 
mal school,  college,  kindergarten,  and  training  school — have  gone 
with  the  emigrants  over  the  mountains,  and  like  the  plants  of  other 
climes  found  congenial  soil  and  grown  more  vigorously,  but  they 
have  left  behind  them  many  enemies  and  parasites  that  checked 
their  growth  in  their  native  regions.  Especially  has  the  education 
of  women  thus  prospered.  Co-education  of  the  sexes  has  found 
less  prejudice  to  contend  with  in  the  West  than  in  the  East.  The 
noble  stand  taken  by  the  University  of  Michigan,  founded  in  1837, 
in  opening  its  doors  freely  to  women,  instead  of  hindering  its  pros- 
perity, has  helped  to  place  it  among  the  four  oldest  and  best  col- 
leges of  the  country  in  rank. 

Yale  College,  in  Connecticut,  one  of  the  most  conservative  insti- 
tutions in  the  country,  has  lately  taken  the  last  step  first  and 
invited  women  to  her  post-graduate  courses.  So  many  other  insti- 
tutions have  fallen  into  this  line  of  progress,  that  now  it  has  been 
said  by  a  superintendent  of  education  that  "  a  college  course  is 
looked  upon  as  the  rational  and  proper  method  of  fitting  a  girl  to 
do  her  share  in  the  work  of  the  world." 

To  carry  out  this  last  idea,  the  alumnae  of  colleges  admitting 
women  have  formed  an  association  throughout  the  country  to  pro- 
mote education.  It  numbers  1,458  members,  of  whom  175  have 
received  master's  or  doctor's  degrees,  and  31  fellowship;  55  of  the 
members  are  married  women.  They  have  done  much  to  promote 
many  practical  measures,  and  have  formed  a  bureau  for  the  employ- 
ment of  teachers,  which  has  led  to  a  demand  for  college  training 
for  the  teachers  of  all  higher  schools.  It  is  significant,  however, 
that  while  the  highest  salary  for  a  non-resident  teacher  has  been 
only  $1,400,  "the  best  situation  has  been  offered  by  an  insurance 
company  for  a  private  secretary  of  high  attainments  in  stenography 
and  higher  mathematics." 

The  normal  school  system  has  also  been  extended  over  the 
whole  Union.  There  are  some  twenty-three  thousand  pupils  in  the 
schools  of  thirty-eight  States,  and  71  per  cent  of  them  are  women. 
11 


162  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

In  the  commercial  colleges,  even,  nearly  one-third  of  the  pupils 
are  of  the  female  sex,  while  in  the  training  schools  for  nurses, 
now  rapidly  multiplying,  the  preponderance  is,  of  course,  the  other 
way,  as  in  33  schools  there  are  956  women  to  76  men. 


COPY    OF    WATTEAU    SCREEN,  LOUIS   XV.   DESIGN,    AT   THE   TUILERIES. 
WORKED  BY  THE  COUNTESS  TANKERVILLE.    ENGLAND. 

The  same  rapid  and  extensive  development  is  seen  in  the 
establishment  of  manual  training  schools,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
give  full  statistics;  but,  while  the  men  appear  to  outnumber  women 
twelve  to  one,  yet  a  very  important  opportunity  is  thus  opened  to 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


163 


both  sexes.  This  work  has  proved  admirably  adapted  to  the 
colored  schools  of  the  South,  which  have  been  such  an  important 
feature  in  American  education  for  the  last  thirty  years.  It  has 
enabled  the  students  to  pay  in  part  for  their  tuition,  as  well  as  to 
undertake  varied  occupation  on  leaving  school.  Its  excellent  moral 
effect  has  also  been  noted.  The  branches  taught  are  very  numerous, 
from  iron  and  wood  work,  brick-making,  etc.,  to  cooking,  sewing, 
and  fancy  carving.  The  Le  Moyne  Institute  has  adopted  the 
sensible  plan  of  teaching  the  boys  cooking  and  sewing  and  the 
girls  carpentry  work  in  addition  to  their  other  lessons. 

One  other  general  feature  must 
be  named — the  advance  in  sup- 
plementing by  education  the  de- 
ficiency in  the  usual  five  senses. 
The  fame  of  Laura  Bridgman's 
development  is  far-spread,  and 
from  that  wonderful  experiment 
a  course  of  training  has  been 
established  by  which  the  blind 
almost  see,  and  the  deaf  and  dumb 
speak  and  hear,  at  least  so  much 
as  secures  the  development  of 
their  intelligence  and  the  ability 
to  lead  happy  and  useful  lives. 
Women  have  taken  a  large  share 
in  this  work. 

It  is  a  trite  saying  that  "a 
republic  must  be  based  on  gen- 
eral education."  This  slight  sur- 
vey will  show  how  much  has  been  and  is  doing  to  lay  this  founda- 
tion broad  and  deep,  and  how  essential  it  is  that  women,  to  whom 
education  is  so  largely  intrusted,  not  only  in  schools  but  in  the  far 
more  important  training  of  the  home  and  every-day  life,  should 
have  every  opportunity  freely  opened  to  them. 

Thus  clearly  has  the  evolution  of  education  been  progressing 
from  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  country  until  the  present 
moment.  A  few  gaps  remain  to  be  filled  before  women  can  go 
on  with  equal  pace  with  men.  The  great  law  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest  will  insure  that  — 

"  What  is  excellent, 
As  God  lives,  is  permanent." 

EDNA  D.  CHENEY. 


DESIGN    FOR    HAND    MIRROR. 
MRS.  E.  W.  BLASHFIELD.     UNITED  STATES. 


DESIGN   FOR   BANNER.    Miss  DIGBY.    ENGLAND. 


MUSIC   IN   THE   WOMAN'S   BUILDING. 

FINDING  myself  appointed  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Music  in  the  Woman's  Building,  by  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer,  and 
feeling  somewhat  overcome  at  the  immense  and  unexplored 
field  for  work  that  lay  before  me,  it  occurred  to  me  that  here  also 
might  lie  the  same  opportunity  for  "  helping  women  to  help  them- 
selves" that  has  been  the  underlying  motive  of  all  the  woman's  work 
of  the  Columbian  Exposition;  therefore  I  submitted,  with  some  hesi- 
tation, a  little  plan  for  securing  amateur  music  in  the  Woman's  Build- 
ing to  Mr.  Theodore  Thomas,  Musical  Director-General.  Mr. 
Thomas  found  something  worthy  in  the  idea,  and  indorsed  my  plan 
heartily,  lending  me  his  advice  and  cooperation,  which  have  proved 
of  inestimable  value.  After  studying  the  possibilities  which  lay  in 
my  original  idea,  that  of  affording  a  hearing  in  the  Woman's 
Building  for  amateurs  of  distinction,  I  sent  the  following  circular 
to  all  the  Lady  Managers,  asking  their  sympathy  and  assistance  in 
their  various  States : 

"  Believing  that  the  progress  of  American  women  in  musical 
knowledge  and  experience  can  not  be  more  simply  and  effectively 
shown,  the  National  Committee  on  Music  in  the  Woman's  Building 
at  the  Exposition  has  designed  a  series  of  musical  illustrations 
after  the  following  plan,  briefly  outlined:  It  is  proposed  to  give 
semi-monthly  concerts  in  the  Woman's  Building  at  Chicago  during 
the  six  months  of  the  Exposition,  at  which  only  women  or  girls 
who  are  amateurs,  possessed  of  talent  and  a  high  order  of  musical 
ability,  and  who  have  been  residents  of  America  for  at  least  ten 
years,  will  be  permitted  to  appear.  The  qualifications  of  any  one 
desiring  to  take  part  must  first  be  tested  and  approved  by  a  jury 
selected  by  the  Woman's  National  Committee  on  Music,  and  satis- 
factory to  Theodore  Thomas,  Musical  Director  of  the  Exposition. 
No  musical  prodigy  will  be  admitted  simply  as  such,  nor  is  the 
diploma  of  any  college  or  conservatory  either  necessary  or  suf- 
ficient. Each  candidate  will  be  rated  upon  her  merits,  technical 
proficiency  not  alone  being  considered.  Permission  to  appear  at 

M65) 


MOORISH   WOMAN   PREPARING   COUSCOUSSON.     ALGERIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


167 


these  concerts  will  be  a  mark  of  high  honor,  and  will  confer  a  last- 
ing distinction,  the  advantages  of  which  can  not  be  overestimated. 

"  Minnesota  has  decided  to  bestow  a  medal  upon  each  successful 
candidate  belonging  to  that  State,  and  it  is  hoped  that  other  States 
will  follow  its  example.  The  concerts  are  intended  to  provide 
a  public  appearance  for  those  amateurs  of  distinction  who  are  shut 
out  from  the  concert-room  of  the  professional,  and  who,  for  various 
reasons,  may  not  wish  to  appear  therein.  Quartettes,  trios,  either 
vocal  or  instrumental,  choral  and  orchestral  organizations  of  women 
will  be  eligible  for 
examination.  The 
examinations  will 
take  place  not  later 
than  February,  1893, 
eitherat  Chicago  or 
at  several  cities  in 
the  different  States. 
It  is  hoped  that  all 
candidates  for  these 
concerts  will  com- 
municate with  the 
chairman  of  the 
Woman's  Board  for 
their  State,  or  with 
the  undersigned,  as 
soon  as  possible.  It 
is  also  desired  that 
all  women  following 
music  as  a  profes- 
sion, and  wishing  to 
appear  in  the  Wom- 
an's Building,  will 
make  application  to  Theodore  Thomas,  Musical  Director  of  the 
Exposition. 

"  The  National  Committee  on  Music  in  the  Woman's  Building 
congratulates  itself  that  in  the  above  plan  it  has  the  hearty  sympa- 
thy of  Theodore  Thomas  and  of  the  entire  Bureau  of  Music,  and 
that  it  finds  itself  in  complete  harmony  with  the  broader  and  more 
comprehensive  scheme  of  musical  illustration  as  outlined  by  Mr. 
Thomas  in  his  first  official  bulletin,  recently  issued.  It  needs  but 
a  cordial  response  and  earnest  effort  on  the  part  of  American 
women  to  win  for  their  sex  such  a  recognition  as  the  great  occasion 
alone  makes  possible." 


FRENCH   COLBERT   POINT  LACE   FLOUNCE. 
ExHiniTED  BY  LEFEBURE.    FRANCE. 


EMBROIDERED   LINEN   TOILET   TABLE,    DRAPERY,    XVII    CENTURY    DESIGN. 
MADE  AT  MME.  NARISCHKINE'S  SCHOOL.     RUSSIA. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


The  responses  that  came  to  me  in  return  were  many  and  earnest. 
Few  States  in  the  Union  failed  to  appoint  advisory  committees  and 
pass  upon  the  applicants  desirous  of  availing  themselves  of  this 
opportunity  of  being  heard  in  the  Woman's  Building.  Many  of  these 
States  followed  the  example  set  by  Minnesota,  and  awarded  diplo- 
mas—  in  one  instance  a  gold  medal  —  to  the  successful  candidates. 

The  next  step  for  the  candidates, 
after  passing  the  State  examination, 
is  to  appear  before  the  expert  jury 
in  Chicago,  appointed  by  Mr. 
Thomas.  This  jury  congratulates 
itself  upon  calling  Mr.  Mees  of  the 
Exposition  orchestra  its  chairman, 
while  the  other  members  are  the 
well-known  musicians,  Mrs.  Clar- 
ence Eddy,  Mrs.  Bloomfeld  Zeisler, 
and  Mr.  Burritt. 

Owing  to  the  unavoidable  de- 
lays attendant  upon  such  matters, 
the  first  examination  by  the  final 
jury  will  not  take  place  until  June 
the  1 3th,  the  first  concert  on  June 
the  1 5th.     If  the  "medaille  d'hon- 
neur  "  to  be  awarded  each  suc- 
cessful    candidate    by    Mr. 
Thomas'  expert  jury  and  the 
National  Committee  on  Music, 
of  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
be  chairman,  prove  a  stepping- 
stone  toward  a  larger  sphere 
of    usefulness,   or  a  possible 
means  of  assisting  women  in 
the    honorable    struggle    for 
independence,  I  shall  feel  that 
my  work  has  been  blessed  beyond  my  deepest  hopes. 

I  can  not  close  this  brief  statement  without  expressing  my 
sincere  appreciation  of  the  interest  taken  in  this  work  by  Mrs. 
Palmer,  to  whom  I  am  deeply  indebted,  as  are  so  many  other 
women,  for  support  and  encouragement.  My  sincere  thanks  are 
also  due  to  Mr.  George  H.  Wilson  of  the  Bureau  of  Music  for  his 
unfailing  courtesies ;  and  also  to  Mrs.  Theodore  Thomas,  Mrs.  George 
B.  Carpenter,  and  Mrs.  Edward  Barbour  for  similar  kindnesses. 

LENA  BURTON  CLARKE. 


BRONZE  GROUP— "BROTHER  AND   SISTER." 
FRAULEIN  FINZELBERG.    GERMANY. 


EMBROIDERED   SCREEN.    GABRiELLE  DELESSERT,  NEE  DE  LABORDE.    FRANCE. 


CONGRESSES   IN   THE   WOMAN'S    BUILDING. 


THE  daily  introduction  of  one  or  more  distinguished  women  of 
this  and  other  countries  to  the  large  and  appreciative  audi- 
ences which  throng  our  Assembly  Room  is  found  to  be  one 
of  the  leading  attractions  of  the  Woman's  Building. 

This  feature  was  inaugurated  under  a  resolution  passed  by  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers  providing  for  a  committee  on  Congresses 
to  be  held  in  the  Woman's  Building.  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  appointed 


CARVED  WOOD  PANEL.    ALBERTINA  NORDSTROM.     UNITED  STATES. 

the  following  ladies  to  serve  on  this  important  committee:  Mrs. 
James  P.  Eagle  of  Arkansas,  chairman,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Barker  of 
South  Dakota,  Miss  Laurette  Lovell  of  Arizona,  Miss  Ellen  M. 
Russell  of  Nevada,  Mrs.  Susan  R.  Ashley  of  Colorado,  Mrs.  L.  M. 
N.  Stevens  of  Maine,  and  Mrs.  Lewis  of  Illinois.  Before  the  com- 
mittee was  called  together  it  lost  two  valued  members,  Mrs.  Susan 
R.  Ashley,  who  resigned  from  the  Board  on  account  of  ill  health, 
and  Mrs.  Lewis  by  decease.  Mrs.  John  J.  Bagley  of  Michigan  and 
Mrs.  L.  Brace  Shattuck  of  Illinois  were  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancies. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  work  of  this  committee,  which 
required  an  immense  amount  of  correspondence,  the  most  careful 

(171) 


172 


ART    AND    HANDICRAFT 


keeping  of  records  of  all  engagements  and  partial  engagements, 
the  arrangement  of  dates  to  meet  the  convenience  of  the  300  and 
more  women  who  are  to  appear  on  the  programme  during  the 


OIL   PAINTING— "THOUGHTS."    FRAULEIN  LUBBES.    GERMANY. 

Exposition,  and  the  keeping  up  with  the  post  office  addresses  of 
the  busy  throng,  it  was  found  almost  impossible  to  divide  the  work 
by  assigning  certain  duties  to  each  member  of  the  committee.  At 
the  first  meeting  of  the  committee  resolutions  were  passed  indicat- 


IN    THE    WOMANS'   BUILDING.  173 

ing  the  character  of  work  desired,  and  instructing  the  chairman  to 
proceed  to  fill  up  the  programme  by  providing  one  or  two  gifted 
women  to  read  papers  or  deliver  addresses  each  day  during  the 
Exposition.  When  the  nature  of  the  subject  permits,  an  oppor- 
tunity for  free  discussion  is  afforded. 

Every  avocation,  profession,  department,  or  line  of  work,  of 
whatsoever  nature,  that  has  enlisted  the  interest  and  activity  of 
women  will  be  offered  an  opportunity  for  presentation  through 
their  most  distinguished  advocates  at  some  time  during  these  six 
months  of  daily  intellectual  feasts  for  women. 

It  is  a  rare  opportunity  for  persons  visiting  the  Exposition  to  be 
brought  in  touch  with  many  distinguished  contemporary  women  of 
this  and  other  countries,  whose  names  are  known  throughout  the 
civilized  world,  and  who  have  consented  to  aid  our  work. 

If  in  a  different  age  and  under  other  governments  women  have 
been  suppressed,  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  at  least  they  are 
guaranteed  the  right  of  free  speech  under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. Such  a  dissemination  of  thought  can  not  fail  to  broaden 
woman's  sphere  of  usefulness  and  facilitate  her  advancement. 

The  golden  opportunity  for  women  has  for  some  wise  purpose 
been  reserved  to  this  good  time,  and  is  now  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  women  of  our  country,  to  crown  the  Columbian  year.  With 
united  effort  and  singleness  of  purpose  our  Board  has  worked  with 
the  view  of  uplifting  and  benefiting  all  classes  of  women  the  world 
over.  All  the  results  of  their  labor  they  can  not  hope  to  see,  but 
the  children  of  to-day  may  behold  it  to-morrow.  This  department, 
providing  for  interchange  of  ideas  and  the  close  communion 
of  thought,  which  always  tends  to  overcome  prejudice,  and  knit 
together  the  highest  interests  of  humanity,  will  not  be  an  unim- 
portant factor  when  the  grand  result  of  the  perfect  whole  is 
calculated. 

MARY  K.  O.  EAGLE. 


CARVED   BUFFET.    COUNTESS   TANKERVILLE.     ENGLAND. 


ASSOCIATIONS   OF  WOMEN. 

THE  parable  of  the  mustard-seed,  of  the  great  tree  that  grows 
from  the  smallest  beginnings,  is  illustrated  by  many  facts 
of  common  experience,  and  nowhere  more  than  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  beginning  and  progress  of  the  associations  among 
women,  which  have  come  to  play  so  important  a  part  in  the 
development  of  American  society.  Sporadic  instances  of  women's 
clubs  appear  here  and  there  in  the  history  of  the  last  fifty  years, 
but  the  movement  which  has  culminated  in  the  General  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  beginning 
twenty-five  years  ago,  when,  within  a  few  weeks  of  each  other, 
the  New  England  Woman's  Club  of  Boston  and  the  Sorosis  of 
New  York  came  into  being,  each  with  a  name  and  plan  of  action. 
The  first  of  these  had  its  immediate  origin  in  a  desire  to  furnish 
some  convenient  place  for  meeting  and  resting  to  the  many  ladies 
who  reside  in  the  suburbs  of  Boston,  and  are  often  called  to  the  city 
by  various  occasions  of  business  or  of  pleasure.  Several  ladies, 
remarkable  for  sound  judgment  and  superior  culture,  associated 
themselves  in  this  enterprise,  and  established  it  on  a  practical 
basis.  Parlors  were  engaged  in  a  central  part  of  the  city,  and  the 
club  was  duly  installed,  its  numbers  at  the  first  amounting  to  one 
hundred  and  eighteen — with  seventeen  associate  members.  The 
locale  being  secured,  plans  of  utilizing  it  began  to  develop  themselves, 
resulting  in  the  institution  of  a  weekly  meeting  for  the  hearing  of 
lectures  and  the  discussion  of  topics  considered  of  importance. 
These  exercises  rapidly  increased  in  interest  and  value,  and  the 
Mondays  of  the  month — Monday  being  the  chosen  day — were  en- 
trusted to  the  care  of  various  committees.  The  first  Monday  in  the 
month  belonged  to  the  Art  and  Literature  Committee,  and  was  occu- 
pied by  a  lecture,  usually  by  an  outsider,  followed  by  a  short  discus- 
sion of  the  topic  presented.  The  second  Monday  was  assigned  to 
the  Discussion  Committee,  and  was  wholly  devoted  to  its  work,  which 
was  introduced  by  a  short  paper  contributed  by  a  member  of  the 
club.  The  third  Monday  was  given  to  the  Work  Committee,  and 
at  this  meeting  many  grave  topics  of  public  interest  were  pre- 

(175) 


176  ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 

sented,  often  by  experts,  and  commented  upon.  The  fourth  Monday, 
at  first  reserved  for  some  popular  entertainment,  was  at  last  given 
in  charge  to  the  Committee  on  Education.  To  these  occasions  was 
soon  added  a  Club  Tea,  following  the  discussion  of  the  Work 
Committee  afternoon. 

The  club  embraced  in  its  membership  a  number  of  able  women, 
and  the  zeal  of  the  more  thoughtful  soon  made  itself  felt  through- 


TAPESTRY    FROM    RAPHAEL'S    CARTOON,   "THE    MIRACULOUS    DRAUGHT    OF 
FISHES."    ANNIE  LYMAN.    UNITED  STATES. 

out  the  whole  body.  Questions  very  important  to  the  community, 
and  reforms  which  have  proved  very  valuable,  were  sometimes 
started  at  these  meetings,  and  have  been  much  forwarded  by  the 
action  of  the  club.  While  remaining  distinctively  a  woman's  club, 
a  few  eminent  men  were  admitted  to  its  fellowship.  Prominent 
among  these  were  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson, 
the  poet  Whittier,  and  noble  Judge  Sewall,  the  untiring  champion 
of  the  political  and  civil  rights  of  women.  Miss  Abby  W.  May,  a 
woman  eminent  in  the  community  for  judgment  and  character,  was 
the  life-long  chairman  of  the  Work  Committee.  Mrs.  Caroline  M. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


177 


Severance  was  the  first  president  of  the  club.  The  writer  of  this 
paper  succeeded  her,  and  has  remained  in  that  office  ever  since. 
The  secretary  from  the  start  has  been  Miss  Lucia  M.  Peabody,  well 
known  in  her  earlier  life  as  one  of  the  ablest  educators  in  New 
England.  The  club,  whose  membership  has  extended  to  230,  has 


MINIATURE.    CAMILLE  ISBERT.    FRANCE. 

for  years  past  occupied  pleasant  parlors  on  Park  Street,  a  region 
once  consecrated  to  highest  fashion. 

The  methods  of  the  New  York  Sorosis  were  somewhat  different 
from  those  just  described.  This  club  chose  for  its  place  of  meeting 
a  large  and  convenient  parlor  in  Delmonico's  well-known  restau- 
rant, where  luncheon  was  usually  served  to  them.  Their  meetings 
were  once  a  fortnight,  and  while  sometimes  devoted  to  the  gravest 
questions,  were  often  enlivened  by  music  and  recitations.  The 

1 2 


178 


ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 


membership  is  larger  than  that  of  the  New  England  Women's 
Club,  the  annual  fee  for  each  being  ten  dollars,  with  an  initiation  fee 
of  five  dollars.  This  club  has  a  good  record,  having  always  been 
active  in  works  of  charity  and  in  social  and  aesthetic  culture.  The 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women,  of  which  we  shall 
presently  speak,  was  first  planned  by  members  of  Sorosis,  and  the 
general  federation  of  women's  clubs,  which  is  now  so  prominent 
in  the  country,  was  also  devised  by  it,  a  similar  plan  having  been 


ARABIAN    EMBROIDERY  FROM    SCHOOL  FOR   MOORISH  AND  ALGERIAN  GIRLS. 
EXHIBITED  BY  MME.  LUCE  BEN-ABEN.    ALGERIA. 

suggested  in  the  New  England  Women's  Club,  but  not  carried  into 
action. 

The  Fortnightly  Club  and  the  Woman's  Club,  both  of  Chicago, 
next  claim  our  attention.  The  first  of  these  was  founded  by  Mrs. 
Kate  Newell  Doggett,  a  woman  of  much  intelligence,  energy,  and 
cultivation.  Being  herself  a  sedulous  student  of  foreign  literature, 
of  botany,  and  sociology,  she  made  every  effort  to  inspire  the  ladies 
of  her  city  with  a  love  for  the  same  high  pursuits.  The  Fort- 
nightly has  always  been  purely  literary  in  character,  and  has  done 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


179 


much  to  improve  the  tone  and  taste  of  Chicago  society.  The 
Woman's  Club,  instituted  by  Mrs.  Caroline  N.  Brown  some  years 
later,  has  had  a  more  varied  scope,  including  in  its  interests  reform 
and  humanitarian  action.  To  this  club  is  owing  the  appointment 


PORTRAIT  OF   PRINCE   BARIATINSKY.      PRINCESS  Ol.GA  BARIATINSKY.      RUSSIA. 

of  matrons  on  the  Chicago  police  force,  a  measure  which  has  been 
attended  with  very  good  results.  Each  of  these  clubs  has  had,  until 
lately,  a  parlor  of  its  own,  and  as  these  were  in  the  same  building, 
each  could  sometimes  enjoy  the  advantages  of  both  rooms.  I  will 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  181 

only  further  say  that  both  clubs  are  now  in  active  and  successful 
operation. 

The  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women,  familiarly 
spoken  of  as  the  A.  A.  W.,  was  instituted  by  the  New  York  Sorosis  in 
1873.  Mrs.  Jenny  June  Croly  had,  at  an  earlier  period,  issued  a  call 
for  a  congress  of  women,  which  resulted  in  the  holding  of  a  parlia- 
mentary conference  in  the  city  of  New  York.  No  organization, 
however,  resulted  from  this.  At  the  date  given  above  a  call  was 
issued  to  women  of  many  pursuits  and  occupations,  some  of  them 
already  known  by  reputation.  This  was  signed  by  the  president  of 
Sorosis,  and  other  officers.  The  first  congress  was  held  in  New 
York,  and  was  largely  attended.  Mrs.  Livermore  was  its  presi- 
dent; Mrs.  Charlotte  B.  Wilbour,  then  president  of  Sorosis,  was 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  The  meetings  lasted  for 
three  days,  and  the  papers  and  discussions  received  very  favorable 
notice  in  the  public  prints.  Conspicuous  among  those  who 
attended  it  were  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher 
Hooker,  Mrs.  Sara  Spencer  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  Antoinette  Brown 
Blackwell,  and  Maria  Mitchell,  professor  of  astronomy  at  Vassar 
college,  and  the  writer.  Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  now  so  well 
known  as  a  student  of  ethnology  and  as  a  friend  to  the  Indians, 
was  the  efficient  and  valued  secretary  of  the  association.  This 
congress  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  permanent  association, 
whose  office  it  became  to  hold  a  yearly  congress  in  various  impor- 
tant cities  of  the  Union,  with  a  special  view  to  the  instruction  of 
their  own  sex  and  the  formation  of  women's  clubs,  many  of  which 
resulted  from  its  influence.  The  plan  of  the  Association  was  rather 
vague  at  first,  but  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  various  committees,  among  which  its  work  was  divided. 
Its  second  president  was  Maria  Mitchell,  who  served  in  that  capac- 
ity with  great  acceptance  for  two  years.  She  was  succeeded  by 
Mrs.  Doggett  of  Chicago,  who  in  turn  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe,  who  still  remains  president  of  the  association.  The 
congresses  have  been  held  in  Boston,  Providence,  Portland  (Me.), 
Syracuse,  Buffalo,  Grand  Rapids,  Denver,  Toronto,  Baltimore, 
Cleveland,  Louisville,  Memphis,  and  other  cities,  and  in  all  of  these 
places  have  awakened  great  interest  and  have  stimulated  associa- 
tion among  women. 

The  two  parent  clubs,  the  Sorosis  and  the  New  England 
Women's  Club,  were  soon  consulted  by  various  bodies  of  women 
desiring  to  form  similar  associations.  To  these  all  possible  help  and 
encouragement  was  given  by  the  New  England  Club,  and,  presum- 


182  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

ably,  by  its  sister  Sorosis,  and  far  and  wide  throughout  the  land 
the  club  movement  grew  and  the  circles  multiplied.  These  bodies 
were  very  various  in  their  plans  and  pursuits,  but  all  were  deter- 
mined to  do  good  work,  and  their  record  has  been  such  as  to  win  a 
place  in  the  public  esteem  for  what  was  at  first  considered  a  dan- 
gerous and  man-aping  innovation.  The  word  club,  indeed,  is  sus- 
ceptible of  more  than  one  interpretation,  and  to  many,  no  doubt, 
may  have  at  first  suggested  the  thought  of  careless  manners  and 
of  idle  conversation.  At  one  of  the  recent  woman's  congresses 
a  speaker  playfully  asked  whether  men  at  their  clubs  occupied 
themselves  in  discussing  the  proper  ordering  of  their  households, 
the  education  of  their  children,  and  kindred  subjects.  The  ques- 
tion called  forth  some  laughter  from  the  audience,  who  were  well 
aware  that,  while  these  topics  receive  much  attention  in  women's 
clubs,  they  are  not  prominently  brought  forward  in  those  fre- 
quented by  men. 

An  important  era  in  club  history  was  marked  by  the  institution 
of  a  general  federation  of  women's  clubs,  which,  like  the  A.  A.  W., 
was  first  called  for  by  the  New  York  Sorosis,  and  has  now  become 
an  important  factor  in  the  community.  The  first  president  of  the 
federation  was  Mrs.  Charlotte  Emerson  Brown  of  Orange,  N.  J. 
This  lady  proved  eminently  qualified  for  the  position  to  which  she 
was  called,  having  devoted  much  time  and  labor  to  the  affairs  of 
the  federation,  and  having  shown  in  her  work  a  truly  catholic  and 
disinterested  spirit.  At  the  close  of  her  first  term  of  office  she  was 
reflected  with  almost  entire  unanimity.  She  reports  the  number  of 
clubs  in  the  federation  as  over  three  hundred.  The  conventions 
of  this  body  are  biennial,  the  first  having  been  held  in  New  York 
and  the  second  in  Chicago. 

This  general  union  is  likely  to  be  supplemented  by  State  feder- 
ations, which  may  hold  State  conventions.  This  plan  is  not  yet 
perfected. 

The  associations  for  study,  and  those  devoted  to  benevolent 
action  connected  with  churches  of  all  denominations,  can  not  be 
here  enumerated.  Among  them,  however,  we  may  mention  as 
being  of  especial  interest,  the  Zenana  Missions  in  India,  instituted 
and  supported  by  these  associations.  The  Society  for  the  Encour- 
agement of  Studies  at  Home,  although  in  no  sense  a  club,  should 
yet  be  mentioned  with  honor  among  the  associations  of  women. 
Its  work  is  done  by  correspondence,  and  its  years  already  number 
twenty.  The  following  quotation  from  an  authorized  statement 
gives  us  in  brief  some  of  its  features: 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


183 


"  In  all,  more  than  six  thousand  women  appear  on  the  rolls, 
geographically  distributed  over  forty-three  States,  one  Territory, 
and  Canada. 

"  The  methods  include  regular  correspondence,  memory  notes, 
monthly  reports  of  work  done,  frequent  examinations  on  books  or 
subjects — answered  on  honor — arranged  to  help  the  student  to  order 
and  make  truly  hers  the  newly  acquired  knowledge;  and  abstracts 


SILK    AND    GOLD    EMBROIDERED    PANEL. 
WORKING  WOMAN'S  SOCIETY  OF  VIENNA.    AUSTRIA. 

of  books,  or  papers  on  special  points,  required  according  to  the 
ability  of  the  student. 

"  In  the  seventeen  years  of  the  society's  life  nearly  all  grades  of 
social  position  have  been  represented  by  our  students — women 
of  leisure,  many  of  whom  soon  became  helpers  in  the  work; 
teachers,  including  a  colored  one  in  the  South;  graduates  of  col- 


184  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

leges,  some  studying  for  a  second  degree;  a  telegraph  operator,  a 
compositor,  a  matron  of  a  public  institution,  women  from  towns, 
and  others  from  remote  places,  one  of  whom  writes:  '  With  my 
lesson,  copied  at  night,  pinned  to  the  kitchen  wall,  I  find  the 
drudgery  of  dishwashing  removed."  " 

The  Women's  Press  Clubs  are  a  novel  feature,  and  should  be 
mentioned  with  commendation.  Their  members  are  generally  too 
closely  occupied  to  partake  very  largely  of  the  enjoyments  of  club 
life.  Their  meetings,  however,  are  pleasant  and  instructive,  and 
have  done  much  to  improve  the  tone  of  women's  contributions  to 
the  press.  These  associations  exist  in  Boston,  Chicago,  New  York, 
and  many  other  places. 

The  writer  remembers  the  days  in  which  a  single  woman 
reporter  would  shyly  creep  into  place  among  half  a  dozen  or  more 
of  the  other  sex.  Matters  are  very  much  changed  in  this  respect, 
and  the  group  of  bright  young  faces  at  the  reporters'  table,  bearing 
the  marks  of  thought  and  education,  is  now  a  happy  feature  at  many 
public  meetings. 

In  the  Woman's  Building  in  Chicago  many  associations  are 
represented  in  addition  to  those  already  spoken  of.  The  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  has  now  a  world-wide  reputation  and 
efficiency.  The  various  suffrage  associations  occupy  space  and  will 
hold  meetings  from  time  to  time. 

The  associations  of  women  in  these  days  are  so  numerous  that 
we  may  say  their  name  is  legion,  and  while  we  salute  them  all 
with  esteem  and  good  will,  we  should  find  it  impossible  within  our 
present  limits  to  give  them  fuller  characterization  or  to  do  more 
than  very  partial  justice  to  their  merits. 

JULIA  WARD  HOWE. 


LIST  OF  ORGANIZATIONS  GRANTED  SPACE  IN  THE  WOMAN'S 

BUILDING. 

Ladies'  Catholic  Benevolent  Association  .         .  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

King's  Daughters      -------  New  York  City. 

Association  for  Advancement  of  Women        .  .  241  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 

National  Council  of  Women        .         .         -  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

National  W.  C.  T.  U.     .         .         .         .         .  .  New  York  City. 

Non-Partisan  W.  C.  T.  U.  ...  Washington,  D.  C. 

Promotion  of  Physical  Culture        .  Chicago,  111. 

Emma  Willard  Association        .....  New  York  City. 

Woman's  Relief  Corps  ......  Sabetha,  Kan. 

International  Committee  of  Y.  W.  C.  A.     .         .         .  Chicago,  111. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S    BUILDING. 


185 


Association  of  Collegiate  Alumnae          ... 
Shut-in  Society  ..--.- 

P.  E.  O.  Sisterhood        ...... 

Federation  of  Clubs   ...... 

Woman's  Columbia  Club         ..... 

American  Society  of  Authors     .... 

Woman's  Educational  Industrial  Association 
Home  of  the  Merciful  Savior  for  Crippled  Children 
Chicago  Woman's  Club  . 

Columbian  Association  of  Housekeepers     . 
National  Science  Club    ...... 

International  Woman's  Christian  Association     . 
New  York  Association  of  Working  Girls 
Stanton  Woman's  Relief  Corps  .... 

South  End  Flower  Mission 

National  Deaconesses,  Conference 

Woman's  Branch  Congress  Auxiliary     . 

Ladies'  Hermitage  Association 

Eastern  Star  -.---.. 

Nebraska  Ceramic  Club      ..... 

The  Needlework  Guild  ..... 

Monticello  Seminary  .         .         .         . 

Girls'  Mutual  Benefit  Club      . 

Mary  Washington  Monument  Association 

Woman's  Board  of  Missions  (Congregationa1) 

Woman's  Board  of  the  Interior 

Woman's  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions 

Woman's  National  Press  Federation 

Woman's  Home  Missionary  (M.  E.) 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  (M.  E.) 

L'Union  des  Femmes  de  France    .... 

Woman's  Work  for  Women 

Girls'  Friendly  Society    ...... 

National  Press  League       ..... 

Woman's  Club  of  Wisconsin 
Woman's  National  Indian  Association 


EDUCATIONAL. 


Alumnae  Pratt  Institute 
Bryn  Mawr  School 
American  College  for  Girls 
School  of  Applied  Arts 
Technical  School  of  Design 
Lasell   Seminary 
Helmuth  College 
Industrial  College  of  Mississippi 


Washington,  D.  C. 
Millersville,  Pa. 
Nelson,  Neb. 
Orange,  N.  J. 
Wichita,  Kan. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Boston. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Oberlin,  Ohio. 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 
New  York. 
Stanton,  Cal. 
Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Nashville,  Tenn. 
Chicago,  111. 
Omaha,  Neb. 
New  York  City. 
Godfrey,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Boston,  Mass. 
Chicago,  111. 
Chicago,  111. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Evanston,  111. 
Evanston,  111. 
Paris,  France. 
Chicago,  111. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Chicago,  111. 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Brooklyn. 
Baltimore. 
Turkey. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
Auburndale,  Mass. 
London,  Ontario. 
Columbus,  Miss. 


PORTRAIT  OF   A   CHILD.    AUCE  GRANT.    ENGLAND. 


THE  CHILDREN'S   BUILDING. 

THERE  are  certain  departments  of  the  Fair  whose  interest  is 
rather  special  than  general ;  there  are  others  (and  these  far 
outnumber  the  former)  which  have  a  universal  interest. 
Foremost  among  these  stands  the  Children's  Building.  There  may 
be  a  few  misanthropes  of  both  sexes  among  our  visitors  who  will 
declare  themselves  indifferent  to  what  women  are  doing  in  the  world, 
but  I  believe  there  is  no  man  or  woman  who  visits  the  Fair  who  will 
not  be  glad  to  peep  into  the  children's  house.  There  are  some  crusty 
old  bachelors  and  a  few  childless  women  who  make  a  pretense  of 
disliking  children,  but  it's  a  flimsy  sort  of  sour-grape  antipathy,  and 
rarely  rings  true.  Even  those  people  who  do  not  like  children's 
society  will  find  a  great  deal  to  enjoy  in  their  domicile.  The 
sternest  bachelor  was  a  boy  once,  and  he  will  have  a  sort  of  retro- 
spective enjoyment  of  our  great  play-house  in  conjuring  up  his  own 
youthful  image  swinging  from  the  rings,  leaping  over  the  horses, 
and  exercising  on  the  parallel  bars  of  our  gymnasium.  All  the 
world  loves  a  lover,  all  the  world  loves  a  child.  Many  of  us  fear 
children,  and  with  reason;  their  bright  eyes,  their  unsophisticated 
judgments,  make  them  keen  and  wholesome  critics  of  their  elders' 
actions.  But  we  love  them  for  two  reasons.  They  recall  life's  morn- 
ing, when  tears,  and  smiles,  and  passions  were  quickly  roused  and 
quickly  banished;  when  the  world  was  a  great  treasure-house,  and 
the  years  were  eagerly  added  to  our  span  because  each  brought 
greater  freedom  to  go  out  and  gather  the  fairy  gold  and  jewels 
lying  in  heaps  before  us.  Childhood  typifies  for  each  of  us  the 
unsullied  purity  of  his  own  soul ;  we  love  it  for  this,  and  again  we 
love  it  because  in  the  tiny  hands  of  the  infant  we  tend  so  carefully 
the  future  destiny  of  our  race  is  clinched.  Manhood  and  woman- 
hood stand  for  the  living  present,  but  childhood  stands  for  the  past 
and  for  the  future,  and  what  one  of  us  would  exchange  the  bitter- 
sweet memories  of  yesterday,  the  dreamy  visions  of  to-morrow,  for 
the  common-sense  reality  of  to-day? 

The  Children's  Building  stands  close  to  the  Woman's  Building, 
nestling  under  its  eaves  in  a  very  natural  manner.     It  is  a  pleasant 


OLD   BAPTISMAL  GOWN.    BARONESS  REEDTZ  THOTT.    DENMARK. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


191 


two-storied  edifice,  with  a  roof  garden,  a  large  gymnasium,  a 
library,  a  workshop,  and  all  the  other  departments  which  that 
wonderfully  complex  creature,  the  modern  child,  requires  for  its 
development. 


MOSES'  CRADLE.    MLLE.  SUSSE.    ANCIENNE  MAISON  MARINDAZ.    FRANCE. 

The  Children's  Building  is  intended  to  be,  primarily,  an  educa- 
tional exhibit.     As  the  Transportation  Building  exhibits  all  the 


192 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


marvelous  improvements  in  methods  of  transportation,  from  the 
cumbrous  cart  drawn  by  oxen  to  the  palace  car  equipped  with  every 
luxury  and  convenience  the  genius  of  man  can  devise,  so  the 
Children's  Building  aims  to  exhibit  the  most  improved  methods 


OIL  PAINTING  — "THE  BATH." 
MME.  DEMONT-BRETON  (DAUGHTER  OF  JULES  BRETON).  FRANCE. 

adopted  in  the  light  of  the  nineteenth  century  for  the  rearing  and 
education  of  children. 

We  have  endeavored  to  make  the  exhibition  as  complete  as 
possible,  beginning  with  the  infant  at  its  earliest  and  most  helpless 
stage.  This  department  is  in  charge  of  Miss  Maria  M.  Love  of 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  193 

Buffalo,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Women  Managers  of  New  York. 
Miss  Love  is  carrying-  on  a  model  creche.  A  large,  light,  and  airy 
room  is  devoted  to  the  creche.  In  this  is  demonstrated  the  most 
healthful,  comfortable,  and  rational  system  of  dressing  and  caring 
for  young  children. 

Short  lectures  are  given  upon  their  food,  clothing,  and  sleeping 
arrangements,  and  in  connection  with  the  creche  there  is  an  exhi- 
bition of  infants'  clothing  of  all  nations  and  times,  their  cradles, 
and  other  furniture. 

As  the  child  grows  and  its  mental  faculties  develop,  the  kinder- 
garten succeeds  the  creche;  in  the  gracious  atmosphere  of  its 
intelligent  training  the  child-nature  expands  and  develops  sym- 
metrically. This  department  of  child-life  is  demonstrated  in  the 
most  complete  manner. 

The  kindergarten  under  this  management  is  fitted  up  in  the 
most  attractive  manner.  All  the  latest  apparatus  necessary  to  the 
"best  exposition  of  the  work  has  been  provided.  Little  children 
developing  daily  their  intellectual  and  moral  faculties  uncon- 
sciously, by  means  of  the  most  fascinating  entertainments,  will  be 
an  object-lesson  of  great  practical  value  to  mothers  and  others 
having  the  care  of  children. 

Closely  allied  to  the  kindergarten  is  the  kitchengarden.  Miss 
Emily  Huntington  of  New  York,  the  founder  of  this  system  of 
education,  conducts  a  kitchengarden,  where  classes  of  little  folks 
are  taught  the  useful  arts  of  homekeeping.  In  so  interesting  and 
delightful  a  manner  are  sweeping,  dusting,  bedmaking,  and  cook- 
ing taught,  that  what  might  otherwise  be  an  irksome  task  to  chil- 
dren becomes  an  amusing  recreation. 

For  older  children  there  will  be  a  school  for  slojd,  supported  by 
Mrs.  Quincy  Shaw,  and  conducted  by  Gustav  Larsson.  Here  an 
exhibit  of  wood-carving  may  be  seen. 

Physical  development  is  aptly  illustrated  by  the  North  Ameri- 
can Turner-Bund.  These  interesting  classes  will  inspire  many  a 
lad  to  seek  after  that  physical  perfection  that  was  the  pride  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans. 

Mrs.  Clara  Doty  Bates,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  literature 
for  children  of  the  Congress  Auxiliary,  has  charge  of  the  library, 
and  has  fitted  it  up  tastefully,  providing  a  full  supply  of  children's 
literature.  A  large  number  of  portraits  of  the  most  eminent 
authors  of  children's  books  adorn  the  walls.  Here  may  be  found 
the  books  of  all  lands,  and  in  all  languages,  their  newspapers, 
periodicals,  etc. 

13 


194  ART  AND   HANDICRAFT 

A  request  sent  out  by  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  to  foreign 
countries,  asking  contributions  of  children's  literature,  met  with  a 
prompt  response,  and  100  volumes  have  been  received. 

The  committee  on  literature  for  children  of  the  Congress 
Auxiliary  assumed  the  furnishing  of  the  library.  Its  idea  was — 
so  far  as  books  are  concerned — to  select  the  library  from  the  child's 
and  youth's  standard,  not  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  adult. 


WATER-COLOR.    ROSINA  EMMET  SHERWOOD.  UNITED  STATES.    (Copyrighted.) 

The  books  the  children  most  longed  for  were  to  be  upon  the  shelves, 
rather  than  the  books  their  elders  thought  most  suitable  to  them. 
To  really  get  at  an  average  preference  in  children,  boys  and  girls  of 
all  ages  were  consulted  and  asked  to  send  lists  of  their  favorite 
books. 

The  matter  was  placed  before  many  public  and  private  schools, 
and  the  chairman  of  the  committee  received  hundreds  of  letters 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


195 


from   children,  from  which   she  expected   to  make   up   her   final 
catalogue. 

But  an  unexpected  obstacle — indeed  one  so  formidable  that  it 
wholly  blocked  the  way  in  that  direction — now  appeared.  It  was, 
that  the  publishers  had  been  so  industriously  solicited  from  numer- 


CRADLE.     WITH  APPLIQUE  OF  MIRECOURT  LACE.     HAND-MADE.     FRANCE. 

ous  other  quarters  that  they  looked  upon  this  final  straw  as  the 
one  that  made  the  burden  unendurable. 

They  declined  to  send  even  the  very  modest  number  of  books 
asked  for.  It  looked  as  if  the  library  would  be  of  a  novel  kind — 
one  entirely  without  books. 


106 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


Baffled  in  that  direction,  a  new  plan  was  made.  If  the  library 
could  not  be  representative  it  could  at  least  be  interesting.  A  large 
number  of  writers  for  children  in  Europe  and  America  were 
requested  by  personal  letter  each  to  send  one  book,  with  an  auto- 
graph inside.  This  plan  has  proved  most  effective. 

A  very  interesting  collection  of  authors'  copies  has  been  made. 
So  much  for  the  nucleus  of  the  library. 

For  its  decoration  we  have  more  than  a  hundred  portraits  of 


BOLERO   VEST    IN    WHITE  SATIN   EMBROIDERED    IN   GOLD. 
MME.  PAILLERON.    FRANCE. 

writers — photographs  with  autographs  affixed  whenever  possible — 
and  prints,  from  the  life-size  to  the  mere  cabinet. 

5/.  Nicholas,  Harpers  Young  People,  Wide  Azvakc,  and  the 
Youth's  Companion  make  exhibits  of  original  sketches  from  which 
their  publications  have  been  illustrated,  valuable  manuscripts, 
autographs,  etc.,  together  with  the  various  processes  by  which,  step 
by  step,  a  complete  magazine  is  produced. 

Besides  these  there  are  interesting  loans  of  manuscripts,  artists' 
sketches,  and  photographs.  One  of  these  is  a  collection  of  views  of 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 
STATUE   OF   INNOCENCE.      EXHIBITED 


MEXICO   IN   HORTICULTURAL  BUILDING. 


IN    THE    WOMANS     BUILDING. 


199 


all  the  haunts 
of  Henry  D. 
Thoreau,  to- 
gether with  va- 
rious portraits 
of  him. 

This  author^ 
while  not  in 
any  sense  a 
writer  for  chil- 
dren, is  given 
this  promi- 
nence  in  the 
house  dedi- 
cated  to  them 
to  attract  their 
attention  to  his 
high  pursuit  of 
nature. 

Upon  the  ta- 
ble are  placed 
each  month 
several  copies 
of  all  the  favor- 
ite children's 
periodicals.i 
These  are  for 
the  use  of  the' 
children.  A 
number  of  il- 
lustrated books 
have  been  sent, 
with  the  stipu- 
lation that  chil- 
dren  are  to 
have  them  in 
constant  serv- 
ice. 

Pennsylva- 
nia equips  and 
maintains  a  de- 
partment in 


EMBROIDERED    PANELS. 
EXHIBITED  BY  MME.  LEROUDIER  OF  LYONS.     FRANCE. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  201 

the  Children's  Building,  showing  the  wonderful  progress  that  has 
been  made  in  teaching  very  young  deaf  mutes  to  speak.  Miss  Mary 
Garrett,  secretary  of  the  Home  for  Teaching  Deaf  Mutes  to  Speak, 
is  in  charge  of  this  department.  Daily  demonstrations  are  given. 

There  is  a  department  of  Public  Comfort  in  connection  with  the 
Children's  Building,  intended  especially  for  the  benefit  of  children. 
One  hundred  infants  and  small  children  are  received  and  placed 
in  the  care  of  competent  nurses,  who,  for  a  small  fee,  provide  for  all 
their  wants  while  their  mothers  are  visiting  the  various  departments 
of  the  Exposition. 

For  the  amusement  of  visiting  children  there  is  a  large  play- 
ground on  the  roof;  this  is  inclosed  with  a  strong  wire  netting,  so- 
the  children  are  perfectly  safe.  This  playground  is  very  attractive, 
ornamented  with  vines  and  flowers.  Here,  under  cover,  are 
exhibited  toys  of  all  nations,  from  the  rude  playthings  of  the 
Esquimau  children  to  the  wonderful  toys  which  at  once  instruct 
and  amuse.  These  toys  are  used  to  entertain  the  children. 

The  building  has  an  assembly-room,  containing  rows  of  little 
chairs,  and  a  platform  from  which  stereopticon  lectures  are  given 
to  the  older  boys  and  girls,  about  foreign  countries,  their  languages, 
manners,  and  customs,  and  important  facts  connected  with  their 
history.  These  talks  are  given  by  kindergarteners,  who  then  take 
the  groups  of  children  to  see  the  exhibits  from  the  countries  about 
which  they  have  just  heard.  Mr.  T.  H.  McAllister  of  New  York 
has  generously  given  the  use  of  the  most  approved  stereopticon  for 
this  purpose,  and  the  services  of  an  operator  of  the  same  during  the 
entire  Exposition.  This  audience-room  is  also  available  for  mu- 
sical, dramatic,  and  literary  entertainments,  which  will  be  carefully 
planned  to  suit  the  intelligence  of  children  of  various  ages. 

The  Children's  Building  has  no  appropriation  from  the  Exposi- 
tion authorities.  The  Board  of  Lady  Managers  has  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  raising  the  money  necessary  for  its  erection. 

It  has  been  at  a  great  outlay  of  time  and  strength  that  the 
money  for  the  Children's  Building  has  been  raised  and  judiciously 
expended,  but  no  one  of  the  many  workers  who  have  contributed 
these  precious  building  materials,  time,  and  strength  have  grudged 
the  costly  sacrifice  they  have  made.  We  believe  not  only  that  the 
children  who  enjoy  our  building's  hospitality  will  be  benefited  by 
our  work,  but  that  the  children  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  in 
every  country  of  the  world,  will  directly  or  indirectly  profit  by 
it,  and  in  this  happy  result  wTe  shall  find  an  ample  reward  for  what 
we  have  done. 

EMMA  B.  DUNLAP. 


FRANCE. 

AT  the  request  of  the  managers  of  the  International  Expo- 
sition at  Chicago,  the  French  government,  under  date  of 
July  8,  1892,  appointed  a  committee  of  ladies  charged  with 
the  preparation  of  a  special  woman's  exhibit  for  the  Woman's 
Building.  The  first  act  of  this  committee  was  to  draw  up  a  pro- 
gramme and  establish  a  general  classification.  But  before  pro- 
ceeding to  particulars  touching  the  status  of  woman  in  France 
and  the  conditions  affecting  her  work  in  industrial,  commercial, 
and  agricultural  pursuits,  her  part  in  education,  in  the  arts,  the 
liberal  professions,  and  the  many  departments  of  labor  wherein 
foresight,  sympathy,  and  economy  are  requisite,  the  committee 
has  deemed  it  important  to  show,  by  the  aid  of  a  certain  number 
of  graphic  charts,  what  is  in  France  the  true  position  of  women 
compared  with  that  of  men  in  the  different  aspects  of  social 
life  in  general;  that  is  to  say,  in  married  or  single  life,  in  the 
building  up  of  the  family,  vitality,  etc.  It  is  with  this  object 
and  in  view,  especially,  of  the  Exposition  at  Chicago,  that  the 
committee  has  drawn  up  the  first  statistics  ever  essayed  of  the 
demographic  part  played  by  women  in  social  economy.  Thus  an 
important  part  of  our  general  statistics  has  been  devoted  to  this 
entirely  new  study. 

We  have  devised  a  series  of  charts,  chronologically  and 
methodically  arranged  by  departments  and  districts,  in  which 
are  shown  the  proportion  of  the  two  sexes  in  the  general 
population,  variation  in  the  date  of  marriages  according  to  age, 
locality,  and  the  duration  of  married  life,  the  number  of  children 
therein  born,  the  vitality,  longevity,  and  mortality  of  women  com- 
pared with  those  of  men,  and  so  on. 

In  another  department  of  inquiry  the  part  of  women  in  emigra- 
tion and  immigration  has  been  shown  by  a  certain  number  of 
special  charts.  The  committee  has  elaborated  a  still  more  special 
programme,  with  a  view  to  classify  the  diverse  economical  func- 
tions of  women.  The  principal  features  of  this  programme  are  as 
follows : 

(203) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  205 

SECTION  i.— EDUCATION.    PHYSIQUE.    MORALS. 
Instruction:     Primary,  secondary,  superior. 
Institutions:    Schools,  lyceums  (colleges),  courses  of  instruction. 
Grades  of  liberal  culture  open  to  women. 

SECTION  2. 

Institutions  of  philanthropy  and  social  economy  founded  by 
women  or  depending  largely  upon  their  cooperation. 

SECTION  3. 

Manual  labor:  Industrial,  commercial,  administrative,  and  so 
on,  for  use  either  in  home  or  in  the  workshop. 

SECTION  4. — ART. 

Under  this  head  we  have  made  the  following  division: 

Fine  arts,  properly  so  called,  namely,  painting,  drawing,  sculpt- 
ure, music. 

Industrial  and  decorative  art. 

Literature. 

In  this  last  division  are  comprehended  works  produced  by 
women  relating  especially  to  art  criticism,  the  drama,  romance, 
history,  etc. 

For  an  exhibit  of  each  of  these  sections  the  committee  desired 
that  all  contributions  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  facilitate  public 
inspection,  in  an  attractive  and  condensed  form.  To  this  end 
all  works  produced  by,  or  relating  to"  women  have  been  divided 
into  two  classes,  both  well  defined. 

First — General  statistics  embracing  the  economic  and  social 
condition  of  women  in  France,  together  with  special  accounts  of 
philanthropic  works  and  industrial  institutions  illustrating  these 
general  statistics. 

Second — Various  articles  displaying  the  labor  and  talent  of 
the  exhibitors. 

The  main  features  of  the  exhibit  being  thus  outlined,  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  order  of  details  pertaining  to  each  section: 

SECTION    i. — EDUCATION.    INSTRUCTION. 

Here  woman  is  considered  as  the  first  instructor,  receiving  the 
child  from  the  cradle,  rearing,  educating,  and  directing  her  charge 
until,  in  his  turn,  the  object  of  her  care  shall  be  called  upon  to 
found  a  new  family.  Monographs  and  general  data  are  supplied 
relating  to  children's  aid  societies,  apprenticeships,  grades  of 
instruction  given  to  girls,  women's  education  at  the  time  of 


EMBROIDERED   BROCADE   AFTER  TAMBOUR   WORK   OF   MARIE   ANTOINETTE. 
DESIGNED  BY  LADY  HENRY  GROSVENOR.    ENGLAND. 


EMBROIDERED  WHITE  SATIN  CUSHION.     PRINCESS  LOUISE  OF  DENMARK. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


207 


marriage,  diplomas  and  rewards  of  merit  obtainable,  the  profes- 
sions adopted  by  women,  number  of  elementary  schools,  both  public 
and  private,  boarding-schools,  professional  institutes,  colleges,  and 
advanced  courses  of  study. 


PAINTING.    LOUISE  ABBEMA.    FRANCE. 


A  number  of  specimens  of  needlework,  etc.,  have  been  contrib- 
uted by  orphan  asylums  and  working-women's  schools. 

SECTION  2. — WORKS  AND  INSTITUTIONS  CONNECTED  WITH 

PHILANTHROPY  AND  SOCIAL  ECONOMY. 

The  committee  is  convinced  that  philanthropic  labors,  which 
constitute  woman's  "  domain,"  and  in  which  her  heart  and  intellect 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 

find  so  wide  a  field  of  profitable  endeavor,  will  prove  of  the  deepest 
interest. 

This  second  section  is  devoted  to  monographs  concerning  works 
of  private  benevolence,  such  as  creche  societies  for  the  rescue  and 
protection  of  children,  orphan  asylums,  workmen's  infirmaries,  the 
occupation  of  sick-nurses,  sisters  of  charity,  deaconesses;  to  state 
works,  such  as  women's  hospitals,  clinics,  societies  for  the  aid  of 
wounded  soldiers,  and  health  retreats,  houses  of  refuge,  of  protec- 
tion, and  of  correction;  societies  in  aid  of  penitent  liberated  con- 
victs, cooperative  societies  of  mutual  help,  economy,  and  protection. 

Careful  study  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  .savings  of  women, 
the  number  of  bank-depositors,  and  the  sums  placed  to  the  credit 
of  women  as  compared  with  those  of  men,  the  amount  of  savings  in 
relation  to  professions,  their  average  amount,  and  the  progress  and 
growth  of  women's  deposits. 

Some  of  the  reports  furnished  by  the  above-named  establish- 
ments, at  the  request  of  the  committee,  have  been  arranged  in  the 
form  of  mural  charts,  and  others  have  been  gathered  in  an  album, 
entitled  an  "  Album  of  Women's  Work,"  for  the  convenient  study 
of  the  public. 

SECTION  3. — WOMEN'S  WORK. 

The  work  of  women  has  been  classified  under  the  heads  of 
manual,  industrial,  commercial,  administrative,  etc. 

The  committee  has  carefully  ascertained  throughout  the  depart- 
ments of  France  the  proportion  of  working-women  of  all  classes, 
especially  tnose  engaged  in  agriculture  and  industrial  occupations, 
and  the  amount  of  wages  gained  at  different  epochs  and  in 
different  seasons. 

The  conditions  of  labor  have  received  particular  attention,  and 
with  the  object  of  obtaining  the  desired  information  a  special  cir- 
cular, containing  appropriate  inquiries,  was  addressed  to  those  in 
charge  of  the  principal  industrial  establishments. 

These  inquiries  regarded  the  number  of  women  employed, 
daily  hours  of  labor,  wages  paid,  and  societies  of  social  economy 
intended  for  the  assistance  of  employes.  The  replies  to  these 
queries  are  gathered  in  the  album  entitled,  "  Conditions  of  Labor 
Among  Women." 

The  tasks  intrusted  to  women  in  the  world  of  business  and  the 
various  public  and  private  responsibilities  attaching  thereto  have 
likewise  been  classified  in  the  album  just  spoken  of.  This  includes 
the  services  of  women  in  post  offices,  telegraph  and  telephone 

14 


O 

a- 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  211 

offices,  State  manufactories,  the  Bank  of  France,  the  Credit  Foncier, 
the  Credit  Lyonnais,  etc.  The  great  railway  companies  have  sup- 
plied the  committee  with  important  data  bearing  upon  this  subject, 
which,  being  incorporated  in  the  reports,  can  not  fail  to  awaken  a 
lively  interest. 

With  regard  to  women's  work,  especially  so  called,  the  appeal  of 
the  committee  has  received  attention  from  a  considerable  number 
of  exhibitors. 

Among  these  works  special  attention  should  be  called  to  the 
lace  contributed  by  the  house  of  M.  Lefebure,  one  article  of  which, 
belonging  to  the  Museum  of  Decorative  Art,  may  justly  be  consid- 
ered unique;  the  embroideries  of  Mme.  Delessert,  of  the  Countess 
Greffuhle,  Mme.  Charlotte  Georges  Ville,  Mme.  de  Clermont- 
Tonnerre,  Mme.  Edouard  Pailleron,  and  of  the  house  of  Henry. 
Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  exhibit  of  N.  J.  Nayrolles,  who 
displays  a  portiere  which  is  an  exact  reproduction  of  one  executed 
for  the  president  of  the  French  Republic;  the  curtains  of  M. 
Ware;  the  linen  drapery  and  robe  de  chambre  of  antique  velvet 
and  old  Colbert  lace  of  Mme.  Franck;  infants'  wardrobes  of  Mme. 
Susse;  the  embroideries  of  Mme.  Leroudier;  the  bonnets  of  Mme. 
Esther  Mayer  and  M.  Auguste  Petit;  the  corsets  and  petticoats  of 
Mme.  Bureau-Bigot;  the  white  embroideries  of  the  house  of  M.  Crou- 
vezier;  the  gloves  of  Grenoble;  parasols  of  M.  Ahrweiler;  the  gold 
embroidery  of  M.  Vaugeois-Binot  and  M.  J.  Henry  of  Lyons;  the 
panels  of  Mme.  Tignet  and  Mme.  Maillot;  the  large  and  small 
screens  made  by  young  girls  in  the  house  of  refuge  founded  by 
Mme.  Coralie-Cohen  at  Neuilly-Suresnes;  and  the  flowers  of  Mme. 
Boullerot,  etc. 

The  committee,  persuaded  that  the  exhibit  would  be  more 
attractive  if  the  display  were  set  off  by  an  appropriate  entourage, 
has  designed  a  charming  "salon  regence"  adorned  with  the  follow- 
ing works  of  art:  The  tapestry  exhibited  by  M.  Braqtienie,  the 
"  Awakening  of  Psyche;"  a  bust  of  Sophie  Arnould,  by  Mme. 
Leon  Bertaux;  a  panel  by  Mme.  Leroudier;  the  Sevres  vase, 
designed  and  painted  by  Mme.  Escallier;  vases  by  Mme.  Appoil; 
flowers,  Countess  Beaulincourt;  screen,  Countess  Greffuhle;  bas- 
ket of  orchids,  lilacs,  and  roses  from  the  house  of  M.  Patay;  a 
Stand  painted  by  Mme.  Gabrielle  Neiter;  toilettes  by  Mme.  Sarah 
Meyer  and  A.  Morhauge;  the  same  for  young  girls,  by  Mme.  Susse; 
the  screen  in  charcoal-drawing  of  Mile.  Coesme,  and  that  embroid- 
ered by  the  work-women  of  the  Damon  &  Colin  house;  table- 
cloths, Mme.  Franck;  decorated  faience,  Mme.  Decamps  Sabouret, 


EXHIBITS    OF    LA   MAISON    HENRY    (A    LA   PENSEE).     FRANCE. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  213 

the  work  of  the  house  of  M.  Henry;  reproductions,  chiefly  of  classic 
works;  and  finally  the  small  library  of  books  written  by  women, 
comprising  women's  works,  selected  by  Mme.  Jules  Siegfried,  and 
giving  a  more  serious  tone  to  the  exhibit. 

To  complete  the  section  a  history  of  French  costume,  from  the 
period  of  the  Gauls  to  the  present  time,  has  been  prepared  by 
the  committee,  and  proves  to  be  full  of  interest.  An  exhibit  to 
illustrate  the  subject  has  consequently  been  furnished  by  the  Profes- 
sional Society  1'Aiguille,  in  the  shape  of  dolls  dressed  according 
to  authentic  records  contained  in  museums,  pictures,  and  docu- 
ments, and  executed  with  perfect  fidelity  to  historical  details. 

SECTION  4. — ART. 

Feminine  art  has  been  considered  under  two  heads — the  fine 
arts,  commonly  so  called,  and  art  applied  to  decoration  and 
industry. 

The  number  of  pictures,  drawings,  and  pieces  of  sculpture 
exhibited  is  not  very  large,  on  account  of  the  limited  space 
allotted  to  each  country  in  the  Gallery  of  Honor  of  the  Woman's 
Building. 

We  will  here  give  the  names  of  all  the  artists  exhibiting. 
These  are  as  follows:  Mesdames  Madeleine  Lemaire,  Louise  Abbema, 
Demont  Breton,  Delphine  de  Cool,  Muraton,  la  Villette,  Marie 
Bashkirtseff,  so  truly  French  in  heart  and  in  talent  that  we  have 
adopted  her  for  one  of  our  own;  Mmes.  Brouardel  Rougier,  Buchet, 
Villebesseyx,  Colin  Libour,  Marquise  de  Chaponay,  Maseline, 
Turner,  Boyer-Breton,  Comtesse  de  Cosse-Brissac,  Zillhardt  de 
Chatillon,  and  others. 

In  sculpture,  we  would  mention:  Mme.  Leon  Bertaut,  two  of 
whose  statues,  "  Psyche  Under  the  Shell  of  Mystery"  and  "  A  Girl 
Bathing,"  belong  to  the  collection  of  the  Luxembourg;  Mme.  Laure 
Coutan,  whose  original  work,  "  The  Spring,"  has  been  purchased 
"by  the  government;  Mme.  Anne  Manuela,  Mme.  Clovis  Hugues, 
Mme.  Sarah  Bernhardt,  Mme.  Lancelot,  and  others. 

To  the  above  should  be  added  the  charcoal  sketches  of  Mme. 
Mourier,  the  portrait  of  Mme.  de  la  Calle,  and  the  engravings  of 
Mile.  Malsis. 

In  enamels,  miniatures,  and  illuminations  we  may  mention: 
Mme.  Marie  de  Nugent,  Camille  Isbert,  de  Sainte,  Anne,  Herve, 
Gamier,  Louvet,  Lagoderie,  de  Cool,  Countess  du  Chafrault,  Ernest 
Moye,  Soudan,  Montcharmont,  etc. 

In  workmanship    shown    in  the    decoration     of    fans:     Mme. 


STEPHANUS   VASE.    YELLOW  IVORY  BACKGROUND,  POLYCHROME  PAINTING  AND 
GOLD  DECORATIONS.    MME.  APOIL.    FRANCE. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  215 

Abbema,  Mme.  Chennevieres,  Bida  and  Dumas  of  the  house  of 
Ahrweiler,  Baroness  de  Gartempe,  Marquise  de  Grollier,  M.  Duvel- 
leroy,  etc. 

It  remains  for  us  to  notice  the  panels  intended  for  the  vestibule 
of  one  of  the  grand  entrances,  the  decoration  of  which  was  sug- 
gested to  the  French  section. 

The  plan  of  this  was  at  first  received  with  enthusiasm,  especially 
by  Mesdames  Van  Sarys  and  Louise  Abbema.  These  ladies  were 
afterward  obliged  to  relinquish  this  project,  but  they  have  desired 
at  least  to  send  to  Chicago  their  designs,  which  will  give  a  sufficient 
idea  of  what  the  intended  panels  would  have  been  had  their  execu- 
tion been  possible. 

A  list  of  artists  who  have  exhibited  in  the  Paris  Salon  appears 
in  one  of  the  charts  of  the  general  statistics. 

Music  is  represented  by  a  number  of  compositions  of  Vicount- 
ess  de  Grandval,  Cecile  Chaminade,  Augusta  Holmes,  Marchesi, 
marchioness  of  Castrone  Rajota,  Marie  Jaell,  Henriette  Fuchs, 
Hortense  Parent,  Anna  Fabre,  Jumel,  etc. 

Moreover,  the  various  schools  of  music,  the  National  Conserva- 
tory and  its  branches,  together  with  various  national,  provincial,  and 
private  schools,  have  kindly  forwarded  reports  touching  their 
organization  and  course  of  instruction  included  in  the  second  album, 
"  Conditions  Affecting  Women's  Work  and  Professional  Instruc- 
tion." 

LITERATURE. 

As  stated  above,  a  certain  number  of  literary  wrorks  written  by 
women  has  been  collected  by  the  committee.  These  works,  about 
eight  hundred  in  all,  form  the  contribution  of  women  authors  to 
the  library  of  the  Woman's  Building. 

In  the  Gallery  of  Honor,  in  the  retrospective  exhibit,  may  be 
seen  the  antique  lace  of  Mme.  Franck,  embroidery  of  the  sixteenth 
century  of  Mme.  John  Saulnier,  that  also  of  Mmes.  Poirier  and 
Remon,  the  ivory  statuette  of  Venus  lent  by  Mme.  Charles  Read, 
and  the  valuable  collection  of  forty  antique  fans  of  M.  Buissot. 

In  conclusion  the  committee  had  wished  to  add  to  its  exhibit  a 
number  of  portraits  of  celebrated  women.  These,  however,  for  the 
most  part,  belonged  to  public  galleries  or  were  the  property  of 
private  individuals.  In  either  case  they  were  unavailable,  in  view 
of  so  long  a  transportation;  and  for  this  reason  the  committee  has 
been  obliged  to  content  itself  with  sending  photographs,  having 
given  preference  to  personages  illustrious  in  art  and  letters.  The 
statue  of  Joan  of  Arc  is  the  fairest  of  these  reproductions. 


SCREEN.    EMBROIDERED  BY  COUNTESS  GREFFUHLE,  NEE  DE  LA  ROCHEFOUCAULD.    FRANCE. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


217 


The  committee  has  also  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  per- 
mission from  Madame  Carnot  to  include  her  portrait  in  the 
exhibit. 

And  now  we  may  ask  whether  we  have  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  our  exhibit,  which  represents  more  than  eight  hundred 


OIL   PAINTING  — "ON    THE   CLIFF."     LOUISE   ABBEMA.    FRANCE. 

exhibitors.  The  answer  is  not  for  us  to  give,  but  shall  be  left 
to  the  great  number  of  visitors  who  will  examine  it  in  detail. 
We  may,  at  least,  do  ourselves  the  justice  to  say  that  we  have 
spared  no  pains  to  render  our  exhibit  worthy  of  France  and  of 
the  country  which  to-day  grants  us  its  hospitality,  and  in  which 
the  cause  of  woman  gains  daily  in  recognized  importance. 

MADAME  PEGARD. 


NOVI  VASE- 


-APPLIED  ORNAMENTS,  FLOWERS  AND  BIRDS  AND  POLYCHROME  ENAMEL. 
E.  RICHARD.    FRANCE. 


COTTAGE  INDUSTRIES  IN   SCOTLAND  AND 
IRELAND. 

THE   exhibits   of  women's  work  from  Scotland  and  Ireland 
have  been  collected  respectively  by  the  committees  of  the 
Scottish  and  Irish  Home  Industries   associations,  societies 
which  have  both  been  formed  within  the  past  two  years  with  the 
object  of  promoting  and  developing  home  industries  among  the 


CORPORAL   VEIL,    FLAT    NEEDLE-POINT    LACE. 
PRESENTATION  CONVENT  INDUSTRY,  YOUGHAL,  COUNTY  CORK.    IRELAND. 

people,  especially  in  outlying  country  districts,  where  the  crofters 
and  peasants  find  so  much  difficulty  in  earning  their  livelihood. 

The  homespuns  made  in  the  highlands  and  islands  of  Scotland 
have  long  enjoyed  a  well-deserved  reputation,  and  specimens  of 
these,  along  with  the  well-known  hand-knitted  stockings  and  gloves, 
are  here  on  exhibition.  A  native  of  Harris  has  also  brought  over 

(219) 


SILK    EMBROIDERED    VESTMENT,    MADE    FOR    HIS    GRACE   THE    ARCHBISHOP 
OF    IRELAND.    ROYAL  SCHOOL  OF  ART  EMBROIDERY.    DUBLIN. 


IN    THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


221 


her  spinning-wheel,  and  shows  how  the  soft  pure  wool  from  the 
highland  sheep  is  prepared  for  the  weaver.  The  far-famed  fine 
Shetland  knitted  shawls  are  also  represented,  not  only  by  specimens 
from  which  orders  can  be  taken,  but  they  can  be  seen  in  the  course 
of  production  by 
a  Shetland  lassie 
who  will  explain 
the  process  to 
onlookers. 

But  Scotland 
sends  not  only 
speci  m  e  n  s  of 
these  homely 
arts  (which, how- 
ever, it  must  be 
remembered  ,are 
the  most  perma- 
nent as  supply- 
ing the  needs 
of  the  many), 
but  exhibits  also 
dainty  embroid- 
eries from  the 
needles  of  her 
daughters  in 
times  past  and 
present,  for  of 
late  years  sev- 
eral centers  for 
embroider  y- 
making  have 
sprung  up  un- 
der  the  en- 
couragement of 
wise  and  benefi- 
cent ladies. 

The  Irish  case  of  women's  work  will  be  regarded  with  special 
interest  as  showing  the  perfection  to  which  even  such  fine  work 
as  is  needed  for  ecclesiastical  vestments  and  lace-making  can  be 
brought  under  wise  supervision  and  training. 

A  great  deal  of  the  interest  in  America,  as  at  home,  seems  to 
center  round  the  lace-workers,  and  truly  the  history  of  the  origin 


222  ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 

of  Irish  lace-making,  as  well  as  its  results,  is  well  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  those  interested  in  the  revival  of  home  industries. 
Most  of  the  lace-making  centers  were  started  during  the  terrible 
famine  times  of  1 847  by  charitable  ladies  intent  on  finding  some 
opening  for  work  for  the  starving  poor.  Such  was  the  origin  of 
what  became  the  wide-spread  crochet  industry  in  the  South  of  Ire- 
land, and  round  about  Clones  in  the  North,  arising  from  the  initia- 
tive of  the  good  Ursuline  Sisters  at  Blackrock  in  the  one  case,  and 
in  the  other  of  Mrs.  Hand,  the  rector's  wife,  at  Clones.  Mrs.  Mary 
Ann  Smith  of  the  Presentation  Convent  at  Youghal  found  an  old 
piece  of  lace  and  mastered  its  art  herself,  and  then  set  to  work  to 
teach  it  to  the  poor  girls  around,  who  were  striving  to  earn  a  sub- 
sistence on  a  sort  of  muslin  embroidery  long  out  of  date,  and  at 
which  a  moderately  good  worker  could  earn  a  penny  per  ten  hours. 
From  this  effort  has  sprung  the  far-famed  beautiful  Irish  point  lace. 

Many  other  instances  might  be  quoted  of  lace  industries  arising 
out  of  famine  times,  but  there  are  two  laces  which  have  different 
histories,  the  Carrickmacross  and  the  Limerick.  In  the  year  1820 
Mrs.  Grey  Porter,  the  wife  of  the  rector  of  Dunnamoyne,  taught 
her  servant  to  make  lace  from  a  specimen  she  had  brought  from 
Italy.  The  circumstance  suggested  the  idea  of  teaching  lace-mak- 
ing to  the  poor,  to  a  Miss  Reid  of  Radance,  near  Carrickmacross. 
Classes  were  started,  and  you  can  now  find  scores  of  cottage-workers 
in  that  district  depending  mainly  on  this  industry  for  their  living. 
It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  how  these  beautiful  laces  come 
so  clean  and  dainty  for  bridal  array  from  such  poor  homes. 

The  Limerick  lace  is  the  one  Irish  lace  which  owes  its  birth  to 
a  spirit  of  commercial  venture.  Mr.  Charles  Walker  brought  over 
twenty-four  teachers  to  Limerick,  about  1 829,  to  teach  lace-making, 
and  it  became  a  flourishing  business,  employing  some  fifteen 
hundred  hands.  A  short  time  ago  I  saw  one  of  the  original 
workers  at  the  lace,  an  old  lady  of  over  eighty,  who  is  proud  to  tell 
of  how  she  is  the  one  survivor  of  the  four  women  who  made  Her 
Majesty's  wedding-veil.  Limerick  lace  is  the  least  expensive  of 
Irish  laces,  and  when  worked  out  well  in  a  good  design  is  very 
pretty,  light,  and  effective.  But  it  fell  off  in  quality  of  late  years, 
until  Mrs.  R.  Vere  O'Brien  set  to  work  to  revive  it  by  means  of 
able  supervision  and  good  designs.  We  greatly  hope  that  this  lace 
will  again  come  into  popular  favor,  and  that  our  friends  in  America 
will  find  it  suitable  for  the  Easter  offerings  they  give  their  clergy, 
as  well  as  in  the  embroidered  vestments,  of  which  we  make  so 
brave  a  show  at  Chicago. 


Engraved  by  Rand,  MeNully  &  Co. 

THE    GENIUS    OF   NAVIGATION.— ONE  OF  THE  GROUPS  OF  STATUARY  FLANKING  THE 

MAIN  ARCH  OF  THE  PERISTYLE.    BELA  L.  PRATT  OF  NEW  YORK. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


225 


I  have  quoted  these  instances  of  the  rise  of  the  lace  manufact- 
ures, not  so  much  because  we  wish  to  lay  stress  on  the  lace,  but 
because  they  afford  proof  of  what  great  benefits  may  accrue  to  a 


large  number  cf  workers  from  the  humble  beginning  of  one  person 
who  desires  to  help  those  around  in  the  best  way  possible,  namely, 
by  teaching  them  to  help  themselves.  The  same  lesson  might  be 
drawn  from  the  experience  of  a  brave  and  devoted  lady,  Miss 


15 


SILK    AND    GOLD    EMBROIDERED    VESTMENT,    MADE    FOR    HIS    EMINENCE 

CARDINAL    GIBBONS. 
CONVENT  OF  POOR  CLARE'S  INDUSTRY,  KENMORE,  COUNTY  KERRY.    IRELAND. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  227 

Sophy  Sturge,  who  settled  down  at  Letterfrack,  in  the  wild  west  of 
Culare,  single-handed  and  amidst  many  difficulties,  to  start  a  basket 
industry.  She  began  with  one  pupil,  but  now  has  a  most  flourish- 
ing and  attractive  little  industry.  Or,  take  the  results  which  have 
come  to  the  village  of  Marlfield,  near  Clonmel,  through  the  wise 
and  devoted  efforts  of  Mrs.  Bagwell,  who  has  the  girls  in  the 
neighborhood  taught  every  kind  of  plain  needlework,  and  also 
embroidery,  for  which  she  obtains  orders.  She  makes  a  condition 
of  her  employment  of  the  workers  that  they  should  put  a  certain 
portion  of  their  earnings  in  the  savings-bank  so  that  they  may 
have  a  nice  little  sum  put  by  for  their  start  in  life.  A  very  brief 
visit  to  the  homes  of  Marlfield,  and  to  other  districts  where  like 
training  has  been  given,  would  suffice  to  prove  what  has  been 
wrought  by  such  efforts. 

These  few  scattered  notes  concerning  the  home  industries  of 
Scotland  and  Ireland  will  give  an  idea  of  the  condition  of  things 
with  which  we  are  striving  to  deal,  and  the  class  of  workers  whose 
goods  we  are  bringing  before  the  public.  In  the  meantime  we  are 
obliged  to  provide  some  outlet  into  the  market  for  work  for  which 
we  have  not  yet  found  regular  trade  connections;  and  this  is  why 
we  have  depots  in  London  (at  20  Motcomb  Street,  S.  W.)  and  in 
Dublin  (at  14  Suffolk  Street),  for  our  Irish  work,  and  at  14  Lower 
Grosvenor  Place,  London,  for  our  Scotch  work,  and  why  we  have 
sales  from  time  to  time.  By  these  means  we  are  making  the  public 
acquainted  with  the  excellence  of  our  wares,  and  we  are  proud  to 
think  that  customers  who  come  to  us  from  a  charitable  desire  to 
help  the  Scottish  and  Irish  poor,  come  back  to  us  because  they  find 
our  work  of  so  good  a  quality  and  so  moderate  in  price.  A  very 
considerable  sum  yearly  is  by  these  means  sent  to  the  homes  of  the 
workers,  as  much  as  $25,000  having  been  forwarded  last  year  to  the 
Irish  peasants  alone.  It  is  difficult  to  realize,  but  delightful  to 
contemplate,  what  comfort  and  relief  this  has  meant  to  many, 
many  a  home,  and  we  fondly  hope  that  we  shall  not  appeal  in  vain 
to  our  American  sisters  to  take  an  interest  in  this  undertaking,  and 
to  do  what  in  them  lies  to  gain  support  for  it  and  to  help  us  carry 
it  on  and  develop  it. 

ISHBEL  ABERDEEN. 


EMBROIDERED  PORTIERE.    J.  M.  DixoN.    ENGLAND. 


PHILANTHROPIC    WORK   OF    BRITISH   WOMEN. 

I  VENTURE  to  hope  that  the  report  and  exhibit  illustrating  the 
philanthropic  work  of  British  women,  which  I  have  had  the 
honor  of  presenting  to  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  will 
prove  of  special  interest  to  those  for  whom  they  were  prepared. 
Though  it  has  not  been  possible  to  collect  materials  for  a  complete 
and  exhaustive  record  of  what  British  women  are  doing  for  the 
welfare  of  their  fellow  beings,  I  have  been  enabled  by  the  kind 
cooperation  of  a  very  large  number  of  correspondents  and  writers 
to  bring  together  sufficient  Information  to  form  a  report  upon  the 
philanthropic  work  promoted  or  originated  by  British  women, 
which  I  trust  will  not  only  be  found  instructive  and  useful,  but  of 
permanent  value. 

The  report  comprises  three  distinct  features.  Of  these  the  first 
is  a  volume  of  Congress  papers  entitled  "  Woman's  Mission," 
printed  and  published  for  general  circulation  by  Messrs.  Sampson 
Low,  Marston  &  Co.  of  London,  and  Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 
of  New  York.  The  second  is  a  series  of  type-written  reports, 
bound  up  in  six  folio  volumes,  which  are  lodged  for  reference  and 
perusal  in  the  space  allotted  to  me  in  the  Woman's  Building. 
These  type-written  volumes  may  be  said  to  form  the  basis  of  the 
printed  volume,  "Woman's  Mission,"  as  they  contain  the  whole 
body  of  information  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  received  from 
authoritative  sources.  This  information  is  embodied  in  the  printed 
volume  of  Congress  papers,  which  have  been  written  by  the  follow- 
ing ladies,  whose  ability  and  experience  have  enabled  them  not 
only  to  deal  with  the  many  important  questions  under  notice,  but 
to  supplement  the  material  contained  in  the  type-written  reports  by 
additional  information  derived  from  personal  knowledge: 

H.  R.  H.  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander, Miss  Anne  Beale,  Miss  Violet  Brooke-Hunt,  Baroness  Bur- 
dett-Coutts,  Miss  Fanny  L.  Calder,  Mrs.  Boyd  Carpenter,  Countess 
Compton,  Mrs.  Charles  Garnett,  Mrs.  Gilbert  (Rosa  Mulholland), 
Mrs.  Cashel  Hoey,  Miss  Louisa  M.  Hubbard,  Miss  Emily  Janes, 
Hon.  Mrs.  Muir  Mackenzie,  Lady  Victoria  Lambton,  Miss  E.  S. 

(229) 


230 


ART    AND    HANDICRAFT 


Lidgett,  Mrs.  Malleson,  Miss  Marsh,  Mrs.  Molesworth,  Miss  Florence 
Nightingale,  Miss  Petrie,  B.  A.,  Mrs.  G.  A.  Sala,  the  authoress  of 
"The  Schonberg-Cotta  Family;"  Miss  E.  Sellers,  Hon.  Maude 


FIVE    PAIRS    OF    FINGER    PLATES.      VIOLET   M.    PARKER.     ENGLAND. 

Stanley,  Miss  Mary  Steer,  Miss  Hesba  Stretton,  Mrs.  Sumner,  Miss 

Louisa  Twining,  Miss  Agnes  E.  Weston,  Hon.  Mrs.  Stuart  Wortley. 

The  third  feature  of  my  exhibit  is  the  collection  shown  in  the 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  231 

Woman's  Building  of  specimens  of  work  done  in  various  philan- 
thropic institutions,  together  with  a  number  of  models,  sketches, 
photographs,  maps,  and  some  seventy  printed  volumes  of  reports, 
etc.  All  the  examples  of  work  exhibited — though  in  some  instances 
of  comparatively  small  value — possess  a  history.  Taken  in  associa- 
tion with  the  written  report  presented  to  the  exhibition,  they  tell 
many  a  story  of  how  single  individuals  setting  to  work  with  heart 
and  mind,  and  pursuing  the  effort  with  courage  and  tact,  can  con- 
quer the  obstacles  presented  by  an  isolated  and  resourceless  district, 
by  an  ignorant  and  untrained  population,  by  an  apathy  and  idleness 
arising  mainly  from  the  want  of  hopeful  inspiration  and  skilled 
guidance.  They  are  so  many  proofs,  these  little  pieces  of  handi- 
work, of  the  industry  and  cleverness  which  lie  buried  in  the  poor- 
est classes,  and  the  effective  materialization  of  which  is  one  of  the 
best  and  most  reproductive  objects  to  which  philanthropic  effort 
can  be  applied — for  the  work  required  in  the  production  does  not 
end  with  the  object  produced,  and  the  reward  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  the  little  wage  given  in  return,  in  itself  often  an  appreciable 
help  to  the  scanty  resources  of  a  struggling  family.  It  carries  on 
into  the  future;  it  implies  that  the  hand  which  hitherto  was 
unskilled  has  been  trained  to  execute,  and  the  eye  to  select  and 
discriminate.  The  mind  as  well  as  the  body  has  learned  the  habit 
of  work,  and  the  whole  morale  of  the  individual  is  braced  and 
trained. 

Upon  the  methods  adopted  for  collecting  the  information  con- 
tained in  the  printed  and  type-written  volumes,  it  is  not  necessary 
for  me  to  dwell  here.  Those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  will 
find  the  information  given  in  detail  in  my  preface  to  "  Woman's 
Mission,"  where  I  have  also  explained  why  the  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion will,  in  my  opinion,  give  to  1893  a  significant  and  unique  place 
in  the  history  of  the  material  and  social  progress  of  the  world. 
Hitherto  international  exhibitions  have  been  chiefly  concerned 
with  the  material  progress  of  civilization.  At  Chicago  the  moral 
and  social  progress  of  the  world  receives  a  prominent  and  peculiar 
consideration.  Moreover,  under  this  second  head,  the  department 
of  woman's  work  takes  its  place  for  the  first  time,  and  both  on  that 
account  and  by  reason  of  the  special  regard  given  to  philanthropy 
much  of  the  deeper  and  more  lasting  interest  excited  by  this  great 
Exhibition  will,  I  think,  gather  round  the  section  for  which  this 
report  has  been  prepared.  It  is  fitting  that  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  should  focus  and  illustrate  in  a  definite  form  the 
share  which  women  have  taken  in  its  development,  of  which,  in 


TERRA   COTTA   STATUETTE  — "BOY   AND   DOG."    R.  A.  FRASER  TYTI.ER.    ENGLAND. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


233 


my  humble  judgment,  the  truest  and   noblest,  because  the  most 
natural,  part  is  to  be  found  in  philanthropic  work. 

In  conclusion,  I  venture  to  hope  that  the  information  upon  the 
philanthropic  work  of  British  women  which  I  have  been  able  to 
present  to  the  Chicago  Exposition  will  not  be  unwelcome  in  the 
country  for  which  it  was  collected.  My  personal  feeling  and 
knowledge,  to  quote  once  more  from  my  preface  to  "  Woman's 
Mission,"  have  led  me  to  believe  that  the  past  and  present  work  of 
English  women  would  have  for  the  American  people  an  attraction 
exceeding  any  felt  by  other  nations,  however  interested  these  may 
be  in  a  common  charity.  In  an  unusual  degree  the  blood  of  many 
races  runs  in  our  veins;  but  we  are  bound  together  in  the  one 


CARVED  WOOD  PANEL  FROM  RECORD  ROOM.    K.  E.  P.  MOSHER.    UNITED  STATES. 

historic  record  of  the  English-speaking  peoples.  One  language 
unites  us;  one  Bible,  one  literature.  The  poetry  and  prose  of  past 
centuries,  and  the  first  achievements  of  Englishmen  in  the  dim 
twilight  of  scientific  discovery,  are  a  common  heritage  of  both 
nations.  In  the  past  fifty  years  the  genius  of  both,  sometimes 
divided,  sometimes  intermingled,  nas  kept  the  light  burning.  To 
the  sacred  lamp  of  literature  American  authors  have  added  a  pecul- 
iar radiance  of  their  own,  and  the  field  of  discovery  and  invention 
has  been  illuminated  by  the  splendid  achievements  of  American 
research.  And  as  in  these  two  great  branches  of  progress  we  are 
at  once  co-inheritors  and  fellow-workers,  so  the  philanthropic  work 
of  English  women,  commingled  by  practice  and  example  with  the 
work  of  American  women,  must,  I  feel,  have  an  absorbing  interest 
for  those  who,  like  ourselves,  have  drawn  their  national  being  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

THE   BARONESS  BURDETT-COUTTS. 


DIANA  — STATUE.      Miss   GRANT.    ENGLAND. 


GREAT    BRITAIN  — ART. 

REAT  Britain  is  justly  proud  of  her  women  artists,  some  of 
VjT  whom  are  represented  in  the  Woman's  Building,  but  to 
judge  of  all  that  they  are  exhibiting  at  Chicago,  the  visitor 
must  look  in  at  the  Art  Palace  and  see  some  of  the  strong  pictures 
exhibited  there.  It  is  nothing  new  to  find  English  women  in  the 
front  ranks  of  British  art.  They  have  always  held  a  distinguished 
position,  and  in  any  book  which  pretends  to  give  the  history  of 
women's  achievements  in  art  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  paint- 
ers will  be  found  to  have  been  English,  either  by  birth  or  by 
adoption.  It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  a  woman  painter  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  whose  charter 
was  signed  by  King  George  III.,  at  the  instance  of  the  American 
painter  Benjamin  West,  who,  after  the  death  of  Sir  Joshua  (first 
president  of  the  Academy),  held  the  position  of  president  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  the  art  exhibitions  of  London,  women 
to-day  hold  a  prominent  position.  Mrs.  Alma  Tadema  is  a  painter 
with  a  great  deal  of  originality  and  of  power.  Her  husband  has 
been  heard  to  say  that  his  highest  ambition  is  to  have  it  written 
on  his  tombstone,  "  Here  lies  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Alma  Tadema." 
Mrs.  Stillman  is  one  of  our  popular  painters.  Her  pictures  possess 
a  certain  ideal  quality  which  is  not  always  to  be  found  combined 
with  the  admirable  technique  which  we  find  in  her  work.  Miss 
Lena  Stillman,  one  of  our  younger  artists,  is  full  of  promise. 
There  is  a  certain  gravity  and  dignity  about  her  compositions 
which  win  for  them  immediate  recognition.  Kate  Greenaway's 
name  is  a  household  word.  Her  delightful  illustrations  are  known 
in  every  home  where  children  and  good  taste  are  to  be  found. 
She  has  done  more,  perhaps,  to  bring  about  an  improvement  in 
the  dress  of  our  little  men  and  little  maids  than  any  other  indi- 
vidual. One  meets  whole  groups  of  Kate  Greenaway  children 
in  Hyde  Park  on  a  Sunday  morning.  Mrs.  George  Watts  has 
achieved  a  reputation  by  her  admirable  portraits. 

In  the  use  of  water-colors,  women  share  the  high  position  that 
our  English  artists  hold  m  that  exquisite  branch  of  art,  for  there 

(335) 


IN    THE    WOMAN'S   BUILDING.  237 

can  be  no  denying  that  in  aquarelles  no  school  has  ever  approached 
the  English.  The  opportunities  for  studying  art  in  our  country 
are  very  great,  for  women  as  well  as  for  men.  The  careless 
observer,  judging  only  from  the  large  annual  exhibitions,  in  which 
it  may  be  held  that  the  standard  is  not  kept  sufficiently  high,  may 
be  inclined  to  underrate  contemporary  British  art,  but  the  careful 
student  will  find  that  London  is  in  fact,  as  well  as  in  name,  one  of 
the  great  art  centers  of  the  world.  While  George  Watts,  Walter 
Crane,  and  Burne-Jones  live,  we  can  claim  that  in  the  field  of 
portraiture,  illustration,  and  ideal  work  three  of  the  greatest  con- 
temporary artists  are  English  born  and  bred.  The  Montalba  sis- 
ters, Mrs.  Adrian  Stokes,  Blanche  Jenkins,  Henrietta  Rae,  Miss 
Osborne,  and  Miss  Stewart  Wood  are  well  represented  at  Chicago. 
Mrs.  Swynnerton's  "  Mater  Triumphalis  "  at  the  Art  Palace  wins 
almost  as  much  commendation  as  Lady  Butler's  famous  picture, 
"  The  Roll  Call."  When  this  was  exhibited  for  the  first  time  at  the 
Royal  Academy,  a  policeman  was  in  attendance  to  keep  the  crowd 
in  order  that  always  gathered  about  it.  The  picture  was  bought 
by  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  who  has  kindly  consented  to  send 
it  to  Chicago. 

Mrs.  Adrian  Stokes  exhibits  two  of  her  important  pictures,  an 
"  Annunciation,"  very  original  in  composition,  and  a  pathetic  little 
scene  which  she  calls  "  Go,  thou  must  play  alone,  my  boy."  A 
little  lad  sits  weeping  bitterly  beside  his  playmate,  who  lies  at  rest 
white  and  still  as  the  flowers  on  her  breast.  The  treatment  of 
this  familiar  subject  is  very  tender,  the  dead  child  is  exquisitely 
painted,  and  the  grief  of  the  little  brother  is  quiet,  reserved,  and 
infinitely  human.  The  women  sculptors  who  exhibit  are  Miss  B. 
A.  M.  Brown,  Miss  Henrietta  Montalba,  Miss  Ada  M.  Chignell,  and 
Miss  E.  M.  Moore.  Among  the  etchings  and  engravings  excellent 
examples  of  the  work  of  Mrs.  Dale,  Miss  Ethel  Martyn,  and  Miss 
Elizabeth  Piper  may  be  found.  When  the  exceedingly  high 
standard  of  the  work  which  Great  Britain  has  sent  to  Chicago 
is  taken  into  account,  it  is  a  significant  and  encouraging  fact  that 
forty-five  women  are  represented  among  the  British  artists 
exhibiting  in  the  Art  Palace. 

The  east  vestibule  of  the  Woman's  Building  is  decorated  by  two 
large  mural  paintings.  The  one  by  Mrs.  Swynnerton  represents 
three  different  phases  of  nursing,  the  care  of  the  young,  the 
sick,  and  the  aged.  The  decoration  is  in  the  form  of  a 
triptych.  The  central  panel  represents  the  Crimean  Hospital 
at  Scutari,  with  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  lying  on 


MARQUETRY   SCREEN.     LENT  BY  THE  WORKING  LADIES'  GUILD.    ENGLAND. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  239 

their  pallet  beds,  their  faces  turned  toward  the  single  gracious 
figure  of  Florence  Nightingale  standing  in  their  midst,  a  figure  full 
of  dignity  and  of  pathos.  It  was  in  this  hospital  that  the  dying  boy 
kissed  the  shadow  of  Florence  Nightingale  as  it  fell  upon  the  \sall 
by  his  bed.  In  one  of  the  smaller  panels  we  have  a  handsome, 
robust  young  mother  with  a  lusty  child  upon  her  knee,  while  the 
remaining  one  shows  us  the  figure  of  an  aged  woman;  beside  her 
sits  her  young  granddaughter.  One  feels  here  that  the  situation 
is  reversed;  the  young  girl  is  repaying  something  of  the  care  and 
love  which  in  her  infancy  were  lavished  upon  her.  There  is  a 
wealth  of  sentiment  and  tenderness  in  this  three-fold  presentation 
of  woman's  great  duty  and  prerogative,  the  care  of  the  weak  and 
helpless.  Facing  Mrs.  Swynnerton's  decoration  are  three  corre- 
sponding panels  by  Mrs.  Anna  Lee  Merritt,  who,  though  by  birth  an 
American,  has  for  so  long  lived  and  worked  in  England  that  we 
may  fairly  claim  her  for  one  of  our  painters.  The  central  panel  is 
a  spirited  scene,  representing  woman  the  mistress  of  the  needle. 
A  group  of  seated  figures  about  an  embroidery  frame  is  particularly 
worthy  of  notice.  In  the  right-hand  panel  a  group  of  fair  girl 
graduates  receive  their  diplomas  from  the  hand  of  a  college  digni- 
tary. It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  the  process  used  by  Mrs. 
Merritt  in  this  decoration  is  a  novel  one  which  has  only  lately  been 
known  in  England.  The  whole  work  was  executed  between  the 
i  st  of  February  and  the  8th  of  April,  which  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
artist's  industry.  In  justice  to  Mrs.  Swynnerton  and  Mrs.  Merritt, 
it  should  be  said  that  their  work  is  seen  at  something  of  a  disad- 
vantage owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  vestibule  in  which  it  is 
placed.  It  would  be  seen  at  a  much  better  advantage  at  a  far 
greater  distance  than  is  here  possible.  Miss  Clara  Montalba 
exhibits  a  charming  little  picture  of  the  palace  in  Venice  where 
Robert  Browning  lived,  and  from  whence  his  body  was  carried  in 
that  wonderful  funeral  pageant  when  the  English  poet,  lying  in 
his  flower-crowned  barge,  was  carried  down  the  Lido,  followed  by 
all  the  dignitaries  and  notables  of  Venice.  Hilda  Montalba's 
"  Market  Woman  of  Dordrecht "  is  clever  and  well  drawn,  and 
deserves  the  commendation  which  it  received  when  it  was  exhib- 
ited last  year  in  the  Royal  Academy.  Miss  Alice  Grant's  "  Por- 
trait of  a  Baby  "  shows  us  a  jolly  little  wight,  full  of  fun  and  good 
humor.  Mrs.  Perugini's  "  Portrait  of  a  Child  "  is  a  characteristic 
piece  of  work.  The  "  Sussex  Cottage  "  by  Mrs.  Allingham  and 
the  charming  landscape  by  Miss  Stewart  Wood  have  been  widely 
admired.  Henrietta  Rae's  large  picture  of  "  Eurydice  Sinking 


240 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


Back  into  Hades  "  is  a  very  powerful  composition.  The  artist  has 
chosen  the  moment  when  the  beloved  shade  vanishes  from  the  eyes 
of  the  agonized  Orpheus  and  sinks  sadly  and  mutely  back  to  the 
nether  world  from  which  his  insistent  adjurations  have  summoned 
her. 

In  sculpture  women  are  achieving  as  great  a  success  in  England 
as  they  are  in  France  and  in  the  United  States.  One  of  the  most 
beautiful  pieces  of  sculpture  exhibited  last  year  in  London  was  the 


CUSHION.     DESIGNED  BY  H.   R.  H.    THE  PRINCESS  LOUISE.    ENGLAND. 

bas-relief  of  "  Silene,"  shown  at  the  Royal  Academy  by  one  of  our 
leading  women  sculptors.  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Louise 
has  won  distinction  both  in  painting  and  in  sculpture.  Her  por- 
trait of  Paderewski  and  the  bust  of  her  royal  mother,  exhibited 
last  year,  merited  the  high  praise  they  received. 

In  needlework  and  embroidery  our  women  have  never  been 
surpassed,  and  it  is  a  cause  of  great  satisfaction  to  us  to  learn  that 
the  Kensington  school,  which  has  done  so  much  to  improve  the  art 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  241 

of  the  needle  in  Great  Britain,  has  extended  its  potent  influence 
throughout  the  United  States,  and  that  the  leading  schools  of 
needlework  in  this  country  acknowledge  that  they  owe  their 
very  existence  to  the  Kensington  school. 

In  music  we  are  not  behind.  Virginia  Gabriel's  songs  have  had 
a  wide  and  well-deserved  popularity,  shared  by  the  compositions  of 
Elizabeth  Philp.  Among  our  younger  composers,  two  of  the  most 
eminent,  Rosalind  Ellicott  and  Ethel  Smythe,  have  contributed 
manuscript  copies  of  some  of  their  best-known  works. 

In  commerce  woman  is  taking  every  day  a  more  prominent 
place.  In  the  old  days,  the  only  refuge  for  a  reduced  gentlewoman 
was  the  profession  of  a  governess  or  companion,  but  to-day  we 
find  many  women  of  good  family  who  find  in  trade  an  excellent 
and  dignified  means  of  self-support.  Several  ladies  of  rank,  as  is 
very  well  known,  have  opened  millinery  and  dressmaking  estab- 
lishments. 

In  philanthropic  work  Englishwomen  have  long  been  prominent, 
while  in  literature  they  have  maintained  the  high  position  won  for 
them  by  Maria  Edge  worth,  George  Eliot,  Elizabeth  Barrett  Brown- 
ing, and  the  Bronte  sisters.  Among  our  most  popular  novelists  to- 
day are  Miss  Braddon,  Ouida,  Rhoda  Broughton,  Mrs.  Lynn  Linton, 
Mrs.  Alexander,  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward,  and  the  late  Miss  Edwards, 
whose  fame  as  an  archaeologist  has  almost  eclipsed  her  work  in 
literature.  Frances  Power  Cobb  is  a  name  worthy  to  close  this  very 
imperfect  survey  of  the  women  who  to-day  are  among  the  leading 
spirits  in  the  fields  of  intellectual  labor.  The  work  of  women  may 
be  likened  to  the  labor  of  the  coral  insects  who  for  centuries  toil 
unseen  and  unnoticed  beneath  the  ocean  of  oblivion.  At  last  a 
day  comes  when  the  winds  and  the  waves  bring  their  tribute  of  soil, 
the  passing  birds  drop  the  seeds  of  tree  and  flower,  and  of  a  sudden 
a  fair  island  rises  from  the  sea,  with  fruit  and  foliage  and  pleasant 
streams.  The  navigator  discovers  the  new  land  and  writes  it  down 
on  his  chart,  and  the  patient  toil  of  the  untold  myriads  of  insects  is 
at  last  rewarded. 

E.  CRAWFORD. 

Mrs.  Crawford,  the  writer  of  this  paper,  exhibits  one  of  the  most  striking  pict- 
ures in  the  Hall  of  Honor,  a  large  water -color  painting  of  a  Roman  scene;  a  nun 
passing  up  a  marble  stairway,  and  looking  back  at  a  cheerful  young  peasant  woman 
leading  a  rosy  child  and  carrying  a  funeral  wreath.  The  colors  used  in  this  work 
are  of  a  new  manufacture,  and  attention  is  called  to  the  reds,  which  have  proved 
very  satisfactory. — ED. 
16 


BRITISH   NURSES'   EXHIBIT. 

THERE  is  no  more  important  and,  I  believe,  no  more  interest- 
ing exhibit  in  the  Woman's  Building  than  that  made  by  the 
British  Royal  Commission  on  professional  nursing.  The 
pleasant  room  leading  from  the  gallery  in  which  the  exhibit  is 
installed  is  graced  by  a  portrait  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  which 
bears  her  signature.  A  portrait  of  H.  R.  H.  Princess  Christian  of 
Schleswig-Holstein,  and  one  of  the  Princess  Helena,  find  a  place 
near  by.  The  Queen  is  a  patron  of  the  Jubilee  Institute  for 
Nurses,  while  the  Princess  Helena  is  president  of  the  Royal  British 
Nurses'  Association.  The  interest  taken  by  these  august  per- 
sonages is  a  very  real  one,  and  is  shared  by  many  of  our  most- 
distinguished  women. 

Though  we  must  consider  that  Sarah  Gamp  was,  perhaps,  an 
exceptionally  ignorant  type  of  nurse,  it  must  be  admitted  that  in 
drawing  her  character  Dickens  can  not  be  accused  of  having  made 
a  caricature.  How  different  a  class  of  woman  is  now  intrusted 
with  the  sacred  task  of  nursing  the  sick,  one  has  but  to  examine 
the  exhibit  to  realize.  The  neat,  suitable  uniforms  of  the  British 
nurses,  the  appliances  they  use,  the  various  inventions  they  have 
made  for  the  sick-room,  can  not  fail  to  prove  to  the  most  careless 
observer  that  the  profession  to  which  these  things  appertain  is 
both  honorable  and  scientific.  Attention  is  called  to  the  medical 
and  surgical  dressings,  the  bandages  and  belts  arranged  by  Mrs. 
Walter  Lakin,  the  hygienic  clothing  for  nurses  made  by  Miss 
Franks,  the  splints  padded  by  nurses,  the  model  of  a  hygienic  room 
for  the  instruction  of  nurses  designed  by  Mrs.  Lionel  Pridgin 
Teale,  the  nurse's  toilet  basket  and  the  glass  appliances  for  sterilized 
surgical  dressings  designed  by  Mrs.  Bedford-Fenwick.  The  sur- 
gical models,  designed  and  made  by  sister  Marion  Turnball  of  the 
London  Homeopathic  Hospital  deserve  notice,  as  do  Miss  Simp- 
son's basket,  used  by  the  "  Princess  Christian's  Nurses,"  and  the 
bag  used  by  the  "  Queen's  Nurses." 

These  exhibits  are  not  only  interesting  in  themselves,  but  are 
instructive  evidences  of  the  immense  strides  made  in  nursing 

(243) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


245 


during  this  century.  Twenty  years  ago,  nursing  as  a  profession  for 
woman  was  practically  unrecognized.  Very  few,  except  those  who 
were  unable  to  obtain  any  other  means  of  livelihood,  could  be 
induced  to  undertake  it.  So  pressing  had  the  need  become  that  a 
suggestion  was  made  by  some  eminent  authorities  to  meet  it  by 
training  the  numerous  able-bodied  women  in  work-houses  as  nurses 
for  the  sick.  This  plan,  though  never  carried  into  effect,  was  use- 
ful in  opening  up  the  way  for  other  and  more  practical  schemes, 
and  to-day  we  see  women  of 
all  classes  anxious  to  enroll 
themselves  in  the  band  of 
trained  workers.  Many  of 
course  are  possessed  of  very 
indifferent  qualifications. 
At  present  there  is  no  uni- 
formity of  training  in  Great 
Britain,  more  especially 
with  regard  to  the  length 
of  time  which  must  elapse 
before  a  nurse  can  be  certi- 
fied as  fully  trained.  There 
is  nothing  to  hinder  any 
woman  from  putting  on  a 
uniform  after  a  few  months' 
sojourn  in  a  hospital  or 
infirmary,  and  calling  her- 
self a  trained  nurse.  To 
protect  the  public  against  untrustworthy  persons  of  this  type,  an 
association  was  formed  about  five  years  ago,  with  Her  Royal  High- 
ness Princess  Christian  at  its  head,  called  the  Royal  British  Nurses' 
Association,  which  undertakes  to  register  all  nurses  who  have 
undergone  three  years'  instruction  in  the  practice  and  theory  of 
nursing  in  a  recognized  institution.  Thus,  at  a  moment's  glance, 
any  one  can  satisfy  themselves  as  to  the  qualifications  of  the  nurse 
they  wish  to  employ.  The  registration  board  not  only  inquires  into 
the  educational  process  through  which  a  nurse  has  passed,  but  is  the 
result  of  a  most  careful  and  painstaking  scrutiny  into  her  character 
and  antecedents  as  well.  There  is  no  doubt  that  under  the  aegis  of 
a  royal  charter  it  will  exercise  a  powerful  influence  of  an  edu- 
cational nature  on  prof essional  and  public  opinion,  and  thus  prepare 
the  way  for  those  further  advances  in  the  organization  and  training 
of  nurses  which  it  is  the  main  object  of  the  association  to  promote. 

MRS.  BEDFORD-FENWICK. 


EMBROIDERED  VELLUM  FRAME. 
BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  DECORATIVE  ART. 


OIL    PAINTING— "CHRIST    AND    THE    SINNER."     COUNTESS   KALKREUTH.     GERMANY. 


GERMANY. 

IN  anticipation  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chi- 
cago, in  1893 — the  first  international  exhibition  which  has 
presented  a  comprehensive  review  of  all  that  woman  has  done 
in  the  domains  of  art,  science,  industry,  education,  charity,  and  phil- 
anthropy— the  Imperial  Commissioner  called  together,  in  the  spring 
of  1 892,  a  number  of  leading  German  women.  From  these  a  central 
committee  was  formed,  under  the  patronage  of  Her  Imperial  High- 
ness the  Princess  Frederick  Charles.  Headquarters  were  estab- 
lished in  Berlin,  and  a  large  number  of  sub-committees  were 
appointed  in  different  parts  of  the  German  Empire.  The  officers  of 
this  committee  are:  Mrs.  Schepeler-Lette,  president;  Miss  Lange, 
vice-president;  Mrs.  Kaselowsky,  secretary;  Mrs.  Dr.  Tiburtius, 
assistant  secretary;  and  Mrs.  Schrader,  treasurer.  The  follow- 
ing ladies  accepted  the  position  of  honorary  president:  Count- 
ess von  Pueckler,  the  wife  of  State  Minister  Delbrueck,  and  the 
wife  of  State  Minister  von  Schelling.  The  central  committee  con- 
sists of  the  presidents  of  all  the  German  sub-committees.  Among 
its  members  are:  Miss  von  Cotta,  Mrs.  Jessen,  Mrs.  Noeldechen, 
Miss  von  Hobe,  Miss  Fuhrmann,  Miss  von  Keudell,  Mrs.  Heyl,  Mrs. 
Morgenstern,  and  Mrs.  Vely,  from  Berlin;  Mrs.  Simson  and  Mrs.  Dr. 
Asch  of  Breslau,  Mrs.  Weber  of  Tuebingen,  and  Mrs.  Bonhoefer 
of  Stuttgart. 

Separate  committees,  the  members  of  which  are  too  numerous 
to  mention,  have  labored  with  untiring  energy.  Thanks  to  their 
efforts  Germany  has  been  able  to  make  an  exceptionally  complete 
exhibit  in  the  Woman's  Building.  There  are  there  represented 
products  and  models  relating  to  commerce,  manufactures,  cook- 
ing schools,  house-keeping  schools  (schools  in  domestic  economy), 
Froebel's  kindergartens  and  seminaries,  schools  for  little  child- 
ren, high  schools  and  scientific  institutes,  home  missions,  hos- 
pital service,  hygiene,  eating-houses  for  the  poor,  printing,  photog- 
raphy, art,  horticulture,  etc. 

A  valuable  addition,  which  should  notably  facilitate  the  study 
of  this  contribution  to  the  Exposition,  consists  of  the  statistical 

(247) 


PORTRAIT.    VILMA  PARLARGHY.    GERMANY. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  249 

reports  and  the  numerous  accounts,  programmes,  and  prospectuses 
which  illustrate  woman's  work  in  commerce,  manufacture,  art, 
printing,  photography,  and  horticulture,  as  well  as  in  many 
branches  of  philanthropy  and  education.  Much  also  may  be 
learned  of  the  kindergarten  system,  schools  of  domestic  economy, 
the  hospitals  and  charitable  institutions. 

Considering  the  amount  of  space  allotted  to  them  the  women 
painters  make  a  very  good  showing.  The  photographs  of  eminent 
dramatic  artists  and  singers  form  an  interesting  feature  of  the 
exhibit.  Authors  are  represented  by  some  four  hundred  volumes, 
collected  by  Mrs.  C.  Vely  and  Miss  Jennie  Hirsch.  At  the  close  of 
the  Exhibition  these  books  will  be  given  to  the  Women's  Memorial 
Library. 

The  statistical  tables  prepared  by  Mrs.  Dr.  Gnauck-Kuehne  give 
a  comprehensive  account  of  the  social  status  and  occupations  of 
the  German  working-women,  and  are  especially  interesting. 

The  exhibit  of  the  German  women  is  most  satisfactory,  not 
only  from  its  wide  range  and  quantity,  but  also  from  its  excellent 
quality.  The  diligence  with  which  the  best  has  been  brought 
together  also  deserves  high  appreciation.  The  art  exhibit  is 
particularly  interesting;  it  includes  two  works  by  Her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  Frederick  Carl,  which  add  an  especial  charm. 
We  find  a  wide  range  of  subject  and  treatment;  the  Countess 
Kathrenth  is  represented  by  a  painting  of  "  Christ  and  the  Sinner," 
while  Mrs.  Biber-Boehm  exhibits  her  picture  of  "  Ahasverus." 

Among  the  portraits  we  have  Vilma  Parlarghy's  well-known 
and  admirable  picture  of  herself  in  a  charming  costume  of  white 
satin.  Near  by  hangs  a  portrait  of  the  famous  poet  and  painter 
Marie  von  Olfers,  by  Fraulein  Strempel.  Dora  Flitz's  picture,  a 
mother  and  child,  proves  the  artist  to  belong  to  the  impressionist 
school.  Fraulein  Liibbes'  picture,  "  Lost  in  Thought,"  is  particu- 
larly strong  in  color. 

Among  the  landscapes  M.  von  Keudell's  delicately  executed 
"  Bluemli's  Alp  "  deserves  attention,  and  Mrs.  Begas  Parmentier's 
study  of  Venice  is  a  charming  composition.  Frau  Von  Preuschen's 
"  Elaine  "  represents  the  lily  maid  of  Astolat  lying  in  her  flower- 
strewn  barge.  We  must  also  commend  Clara  Lobedan's  "  Italian 
Grapes,"  and  the  works  of  Hildegard  Lehnert,  Frau  Kallmorgen, 
and  Fraulein  Ley. 

Particularly,  however,  the  attention  of  admirers  of  flowers 
is  called  to  Katharine  Klein's  "  Roses,"  the  perfume  of  which  one 
seems  to  inhale.  In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  a  glass  case 


EMBROIDERY   ON   WHITE   SATIN.     GERMANY. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  251 

of  fans,  the  majority  of  which  have  been  already  awarded  prizes  in 
Karlsruhe.  We  will  only  mention  among  them  the  works  of  the 
following  ladies:  Erler,  Laudien,  Wedekind,  Ankermann,  and 
Wittmann,  and  regret  that  space  does  not  allow  a  more  detailed 
description.  A  large  chest  of  drawers  placed  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  fans  contains  many  exquisite  embroideries  of  dif- 
ferent styles,  nearly  all  of  them  works  of  the  highest  order.  Among 
them  is  one  of  white  satin,  with  many-colored  embroidery,  in  the 
style  of  the  Renaissance,  by  Miss  Barbara  Wolf;  also  a  large  bed- 
cover executed  with  ebony-colored  cordonet  silk  in  open  embroid- 
ery; some  artistic  hand-work  from  the  atelier  of  the  Lette  Club; 
an  ornamental  pillow  by  Mrs.  von  Wedel,  executed  in  the  most 
exquisite  manner,  with  gold  silk  and  applique  on  red  satin,  as 
well  as  a  rich  collection  of  covers  and  pillows  of  various  styles, 
among  which  the  fine  work  of  Mrs.  Gerson  deserves  mention.  A 
wall-hanging  about  19^  feet  square,  executed  in  gobelin  embroid- 
ery, is  unique  and  beautiful.  The  design  was  taken  from  an  old 
motif  of  the  fifteenth  centur^  This  is  also  by  Miss  Wolf. 

Germany  has  always  been  distinguished  by  the  excellence 
of  her  schools,  and  they  are  worthily  represented  by  the  exhibits  of 
the  Sophien  Institute  of  Weimar,  the  public  schools  of  Breslau  and 
Munich,  the  working-women's  school  of  Reutlingen,  the  high 
school  of  Rheydt,  the  Women's  Educational  Club  of  Breslau,  and 
the  Lette  Club  of  Berlin.  All  these  institutions  offer  numerous 
illustrations  of  their  achievements  in  the  field  of  woman's  hand- 
work. The  case  of  the  latter  illustrates  also  the  great  extent  of  the 
field  covered  by  its  institutes,  which  include  the  commercial  and 
photographic  schools  that  provide  secure  positions  in  life  for  a 
large  number  of  young  girls.  In  this  connection  a  small  exhibit  of 
lace  from  the  school  at  Schmiedeberg  may  be  mentioned,  as  it 
illustrates  the  many  processes  of  lace-making.  In  this  school  was 
manufactured  the  point  lace  of  the  silver  wedding-dress  of  Her 
Majesty  the  Empress  Friedrich,  presented  by  the  ladies  of  Silesia. 
This  lace  may  be  seen  in  the  exhibit. 

The  "  People's  Kitchen  "  and  the  "Household  Schools"  of  Mrs. 
Morgenstern  are  shown  in  three  small  models,  while  certain  statis- 
tical tables  compiled  by  the  same  lady  are  exceedingly  valuable. 
A  child's  cooking-stove,  with  stove  furniture,  a  charming  model  of 
the  kindergarten  in  Breslau,  the  school  for  little  children  in  Sieg- 
ersdorf,  all  demonstrate  what  has  been  done  in  this  field. 

Among  works  of  charity  we  find:  Pictures  of  hospitals,  exhib- 
ited by  the  Woman's  Club  of  Baden,  the  patroness  of  which  is  the 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


25B 


grand  duchess;  models  of  the  dresses  of  the  female  nurses,  besides 
a  number  of  statistical  tables  from  Berlin,  and  the  charitable  gifts 
of  the  mission  club  "  Edelweiss."  To  our  great  regret  the 
exhibit  of  the  "  Pestalozzi  Froebel  Institute  "  has  been  placed  in  the 
Liberal  Arts  Building,  separated  from  our  main  exhibit,  the  space 
for  which  was  too  limited;  it  is  executed  in  a  most  artistic  manner, 


PART   OF   LACE   DRESS.      Ex-EMPRESS  FREDERICK.      GERMANY. 

and  close  inspection  indicates  the  devoted  fulfillment  of  the  edu- 
cational mission  of  the  institute. 

Last,  not  least,  must  be  mentioned  the  books  which  have  been 
presented  to  the  ladies  of  America,  and  are  to  be  found  in  the 
library  of  the  Woman's  Building.  The  reputation  of  women  like 
Fanny  Lewald,  Louise  von  Francois,  Emily  Erhart,  Natalie  von 
Eschstruth,  Louise  von  Droste-Huelshoff,  Hermine  von  Hillern, 
Tekla  von  Gumpert,  Ottilie  Wildermuth,  E.  Vely,  and  others, 
is  an  assurance  that  the  women  authors  of  Germany  deserve  the 
high  reputation  which  they  have  won. 

MADAME  KASELOWSKY. 


Engraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 

THE  GENIUS   OF  DISCOVERY.— ONE  OF  THE  GROUPS  OF  STATUARY  FLANKING  THE 
MAIN  ARCH  OF  THE  PERISTYLE.    BELA  L.  PRATT  OF  NEW  YORK. 


OIL   PAINTING— FLOWERS.    FRAULEIN  LEY.    GERMANY. 


••I 


Knerraved  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 


SPRING— STATUE.  CANADA. 


SPAIN. 

THE  display  made  by  the  Spanish  women  in  the  Woman's 
Building  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  although  one 
of  the  most  important  in  that  department,  suffers  very  much 
on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  action  taken  in  Spain  to  gather 
specimens  of  the  work  and  labor  of  women. 

By  an  unfortunate  circumstance,  there  had  not  been  a  Spanish 
Minister  in  Washington  for  some  time  until  the  end  of  1892. 
The  American  Minister  left  his  post  in  Madrid  also  at  the  same 
time;  and  besides  this  there  was  in  Spain  a  change  in  the  govern- 
ment. 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  did  not  know  the  importance  of  the 
Exposition  and  the  desire  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  until  a 
very  few  weeks  before  the  opening  of  the  Fair,  and  it  has  been 
very  difficult  to  gather,  in  such  a  short  time,  a  comprehensive 
collection  of  what  woman  is  doing  in  Spain. 

Immediately  her  majesty  had  knowledge  of  the  desires  of  the 
American  ladies,  she  surrounded  herself  with  the  ladies  most 
accustomed  to  manage  affairs  of  that  sort,  because  of  the  part  they 
take  in  charities,  education,  and  in  the  literary  and  intellectual 
movement,  and  calling  together  the  ladies  of  the  different  provinces, 
in  a  very  few  days  they  gathered  what  is  to  be  seen  in  the  pavilion 
of  Spain  in  the  Woman's  Building. 

The  women  of  Spain  have  always  played  a  very  important  part 
in  the  social  development  of  the  country,  and  in  the  growth  of  the 
nation.  The  status  of  woman  in  Spain,  her  position  and  influence 
in  the  family  and  in  the  government,  does  not  originate  only  in 
the  gallantry  that  is  always  accorded  to  Spain  by  people  who  think 
of  our  country  with  romantic  ideas,  but  is  due  to  the  Christian 
principle  that  woman  is  the  equal  of  man. 

The  law  of  the  country  gives  equal  rights  to  rule  to  women  and 
to  men,  and  Spain  boasts  o^  such  queens  as  Isabella  the  Catholic, 
Maria  de  Molina,  and  the  present  Queen  Regent,  who  have  given  her 
the  greatest  days  of  glory,  and  the  best  government  under  very  diffi- 
cult circumstances;  and  of  queens  and  mothers  like  the  two  sisters 

17  (257) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  259 

Blanca  and  Berenguela,  mothers  of  two  great  kings  and  two  saints, 
San  Ferdinand  of  Spain  and  Saint  Louis  of  France. 

The  law  gives  to  woman  such  a  prominent  place  in  the  family 
that  we  have  what  is  called  las  ganancialcs — that  is  to  say,  the  gains 
in  marriage;  this  implies  that  the  augmentation  of  the  fortune 
of  man  and  wife,  during  their  married  life,  has  to  be  equally 
divided,  for  the  law  wisely  thinks  that  the  wife  and  mother,  by 
her  economy,  her  making  the  home  pleasant,  and  her  devotion  to 
the  education  of  her  children,  plays  a  part  as  important  as  the 
husband  in  making  the  fortune  of  the  family. 

She  has,  after  the  death  of  her  father,  the  patria  potestady  and 
she  has  by  right  a  portion  equal  to  the  one  inherited  by  each  of  the 
children. 

The  short  space  given  to  each  nation  in  this  book  makes  it 
impossible  to  fully  portray  the  importance  of  woman  in  the  history 
of  Spain,  but  it  is  easy  to  say,  that  although  her  character  makes 
her  principally  a  home-abiding  woman,  that  although  she  is  retir- 
ing and  avoids  publicity,  and  dislikes  all  that  is  noisy  and  seems  to 
her  immodest,  she  has  all  the  rights  of  man  except  the  political 
rights.  She  has  the  right  to  take  the  highest  honors  in  the 
government  universities,  and  avails  herself  of  it;  she  takes 
an  important  part  in  the  productive  industry  of  the  country,  both 
as  merchant  and  worker;  she  does  creative  work  in  literature  and 
art,  directs  the  education  of  children  in  the  elementary  schools, 
and  is  recognized  as  the  most  active  worker  in  charities  by  the 
state,  which  has  given  to  a  commission  of  ladies  the  direction  of 
the  hospitals  and  asylums. 

The  women  of  Spain  have  always  shown  that  they  can  do  every- 
thing that  men  can  do.  They  have  fought  the  enemies  of  the  coun- 
try heroically,  like  Maria  Pita  and  Augustina  de  Aragon;  they  have 
stood  by  their  husbands  and  sons  in  sieges  and  battles,  being  a 
source  of  strength,  and  never  a  pretext  for  weakness.  As  far  back 
as  the  fifteenth  century  we  find  such  philosophers  as  Teresa  de 
Cartagena,  and  learned  women  as  Beatrix  Galindo,  the  friend  and 
adviser  of  the  great  Queen  Isabella,  who  was  called  "  La  Latina  "  from 
her  achievements  in  classic  literature. 

In  the  pavilion  erected  in  the  Woman's  Building  by  the  Spanish 
Commission,  can  be  read  the  names  of  eight  women  who  have 
been  celebrated  not  only  in  Spain,  but  are  known  by  every  edu- 
cated person  all  over  the  world:  Santa  Teresa  de  Jesus,  one  of  the 
classic  writers  of  Spanish  literature,  whose  writings  on  philosoph- 
ical matters  have  had  a  great  influence;  Oliva  Sabuco  de  Nantes, 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  261 

whose  treaty  on  the  "  New  Philosophy  of  Man  and  Nature  "  was 
printed  in  1587;  Sor.  Maria  de  Agreda,  author  of  the  celebrated 
book  "La  Mistica  Ciudad  de  Dios,"  and  who  carried  on  correspond- 
ence with  Philip  IV.,  King  of  Spain,  leaving  letters  that  are  a 
treasure  of  wisdom  in  political  and  state  matters.  Many  names 
have  had  to  be  omitted  which  in  justice  should  have  been  given 
with  the  others — if  space  had  allowed — such  as  the  names  of  the 
poetess  Ines  de  la  Cruz,  born  in  Mexico  during  the  Spanish  rule, 
and  one  of  the  most  classic  writers  in  the  Spanish  language;  Maria 
Zayas  y  Sotomayor,  a  novelist  of  the  sixteenth  century ;  the  Mar- 
chioness of  Huesca,  who  was  elected  member  of  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy ;  Maria  Elguero,  Maria  Rosa  Galvez,  Feliciana  Perez  de  Guz- 
man, and  many  others  whose  names  can  be  seen  in  the  283  volumes 
of  books  written  by  women,  collected  by  the  commission  presided 
over  by  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Regent,  and  now  to  be  seen  in  the 
library  of  the  Woman's  Building. 

It  has  been  thought  just  to  give  in  the  medallions  of  the  Spanish 
Pavilion  a  place  to  some  of  the  prominent  women  that  have  died  re- 
cently, and  it  is  for  that  reason  that  the  great  Cuban  poetess,  Gemez 
de  Avellaneda ;  the  novelist,  Fernan  Caballero,  and  Concepcion  Are- 
nal  have  been  given  place  among  their  sisters  of  past  centuries. 

The  life  of  Concepcion  Arenal  is  an  illustration  of  what  the 
modern  Spanish  woman  can  do.  She  has  written  books  on  political, 
sociological,  and  philosophical  subjects  that  have  had  a  great  influ- 
ence, and  have  been  translated  into  several  languages,  and  very 
fully  into  English. 

The  State  recognized  her  talents  and  achievements  by  appoint- 
ing her  inspector-general  of  prisons  and  sending  her  as  its  official 
representative  to  the  Penitentiary  Congress  at  Stockholm;  besides 
that,  she  has  occupied  a  place  among  the  most  prominent  men  of 
Spain  in  the  official  commission  appointed  to  prepare  the  laws  of 
social  reform,  and  to  adjust  the  relations  between  capital  and 
labor,  and  to  regulate  the  work  of  women  and  children. 

But  if  Spain  can  present  in  ancient  and  modern  times  as  many 
women  celebrated  in  all  branches  of  human  knowledge  as  any 
other  nation,  the  true  and  real  character  of  the  Spanish  woman  is 
to  be  a  home-maker,  a  housewife,  and  a  mother.  She  contributes 
greatly  to  the  prosperity  and  wealth  of  the  country  by  her  habits 
of  order  and  economy  and  by  the  education  she  gives  her  chil- 
dren, increasing  by  her  savings  the  capital  of  the  family,  making 
true  Christians  by  her  piety,  and  maintaining  the  national  senti- 
ment and  character  by  the  poetry  and  delicacy  of  her  nature. 


PRIEST'S  VESTMENT.    EXHIBITED  BY  ANGELA  BAFFICO.    ITALY. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  263 

The  greatest  ladies  of  the  land  take  the  lead  in  all  the  charities, 
following  the  example  of  the  royal  family.  The  Queen  and  the 
Infantas  take  the  chair  at  weekly  meetings  of  the  boards  of  hos- 
pitals, asylums,  and  colleges,  and  watch  in  person  the  work  of  these 
institutions,  visiting  the  poor,  and  attending  to  the  administration  of 
these  institutions.  All  the  ladies  who  have  formed  the  commission 
in  Madrid  and  the  provinces  are  daily  working  for  education  and 
charity.  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Infanta  Isabel  presides  also  at 
many  of  these  meetings,  and  is  at  the  head  of  "  El  Patronato,"  that 
has  branches  in  all  Spain  for  the  care  and  education  of  small 
children. 

In  industry  women  take  a  very  important  place. 

In  Catalonia  they  work  in  the  factories  side  by  side  with  their 
fathers  and  husbands.  In  Valencia  they  control  the  fan  and  silk 
industry,  and  in  the  tobacco  factories  all  the  work  is  done  by  many 
thousands  of  girls  in  every  large  city.  As  a  rule  one  can  not  say 
that  women  work  in  the  fields  in  Spain.  They  do  it  in  the  north, 
where  the  land  is  very  much  divided;  and  in  the  other  districts  of 
Spain  only  during  the  harvest. 

Unfortunately,  the  earnings  of  women  are  not  in  accordance 
with  their  work,  and  are  very  much  behind  those  of  men;  but,  as 
has  been  said,  a  national  commission  for  social  reforms  has  been 
acting  in  Spain  for  some  time,  and  the  first  law  presented  by  it 
to  the  courts  was  for  the  protection  of  the  work  of  women  and 
children. 

To-day  the  State  recognizes  woman,  giving  her  the  education 
of  the  children  in  a  great  many  public  schools,  and  admitting  her 
to  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  work. 

It  is  not  possible,  in  the  short  time  and  the  short  space  devoted 
to  this  paper,  to  give  an  exact  idea  of  the  character  of  the  Spanish 
woman;  but,  apart  from  the  exhibit  in  the  Woman's  Building— 
where  her  education  and  accomplishments  can  be  studied,  and 
where  it  is  proved  that  she  takes  an  active  part  in  the  national  life — 
it  is  a  good  illustration  of  her  enterprise  to  note  what  a  slight 
examination  of  the  catalogue  shows,  that  there  are  664  women 
exhibitors,  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  total  number  of  the  Spanish 
exhibitors,  and  that  women  take  part  in  all  branches  of  work  and 

thought. 

THE  DUCHESS  OF  VERAGUA. 


ITALY. 

TO  woman  as  a  "ministering  angel"  a  responsive  world   has 
rendered  homage  for  centuries. 

Of  woman  in  her  "  hours  of  ease,"  of  the  dainty  work 
that  occupied  her  fingers  and  thoughts  in  the  centuries  prior  to  the 
invention  of  printing,  little  has  been  said  or  sung,  if  we  except  the 
famous  Penelope,  with  her  rather  wearisome  embroidery,  and  the 
equally  renowned  tapestry  of  the  wife  of  William  the  Conqueror. 

It  is  said  that  if  all  the  portraits  painted  by  Titian  could  be 
placed  together,  we  should  have  an  absolutely  perfect  historical 
collection  of  the  great  personages  of  his  century. 

Were  it  possible  to  make  a  complete  collection  of  lace  and 
embroidery,  it  would  be  an  equally  valuable  pictorial  history. 

There  exists  in  England  a  piece  of  lace  made  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth  which  tells  the  story  of  the  Spanish  Armada;  the  angry 
waves  are  as  billowy  as  lace  can  make  them,  and  the  discomfited 
galleys  are  historically  interesting  in  outline. 

It  is  a  pleasant  thought  that  the  art  of  lace-making,  like  the 
early  pictures  of  Cimabue  and  Giotto,  was  called  into  being  and 
encouraged  by  the  religious  spirit  of  the  age.  Pleasant,  because 
the  old  masters  were  "  teachers  of  men,"  and,  before  the  invention 
of  printing,  sought  to  bring  holy  thoughts  to  men's  minds  by  the 
power  of  their  art;  indeed  the  Italian  peasant  still  calls  lace  "  nuns' 
work." 

Lace  is,  however,  of  far  more  ancient  origin.  Recent  discov- 
eries have  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  making  of  lace  was 
practiced  by  the  Lake  Dwellers;  fragments  of  drawn  work  have 
also  been  found  in  Etruscan  tombs  and  wrapped  about  Egyptian 
mummies,  and  specimens  come  as  well  from  the  savage  tribes  of 
Africa;  in  fact,  wherever  woman  has  made  a  home  the  needle  has 
told  its  story.  The  story  may  be  woven  in  the  costly  meshes 
known  as  Argentan  or  Alenpon,  or  in  the  less  complicated  "  points  " 
of  Brussels,  Mechlin,  and  Venice,  but  to  the  thoughtful,  each  piece  of 
lace  is  the  history  of  a  portion  of  a  woman's  life. 

In  Venice  a  sailor  once  brought  his  lady-love  a  sprig  of  coral 

(265) 


266 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


from  distant  seas,  and  she,  sitting  dreamily,  in  his  absence,  copied 
the  delicate  branches  in  lace,  and  thus  produced  one  of  the  love- 
liest of  Venetian  designs. 

Venetian  lace  resembles  the  foam  of  the  Adriatic  as  the  waves 
break  on  the  Lido.  Just  as  her  famous  glass  has  caught  in  its  iri- 
descent splendor  the  matchless  delicacy  of  her  sunsets  over  the 
lagoons,  so  her  point  laces  express  in  their  lightness  and  variety 
the  unique  charm  of  the  place.  Compare  them,  for  instance,  with 
the  Flemish  laces,  dear  stolid  Antwerp  with  her  "pot  lace  "  that  is 


COLLECTION  OF  LACE  NEEDLES    AND    BOBBINS. 
EXHIBITED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  ITALIAN  LADIES. 

so  in  request  by  old  ladies  for  their  caps!  The  flower-pot  is  all 
that  is  left  of  a  once  charming  design  of  the  annunciation;  the 
graceful  figures  of  the  Virgin  and  of  the  angel  Gabriel  have  dis- 
appeared, but  the  lily  in  its  pot  on  the  window-sill  has  survived. 

In  the  splendor-loving  days  of  France,  girls  with  little  baskets 
of  lace  went  about  the  streets  of  Paris  selling  dainty  jabots  and 
collars,  as  flower-girls  sell  their  wares  nowadays. 

The  prejudices  against  this  most  feminine  industry  are  hap- 
pily dissipating  before  the  well-authenticated  statistics  concerning 
the  physical  and  moral  well-being  of  the  lace-workers  of  this 


BAPTISMAL    VEIL    OF    QUEEN    CAROLINE    OF    NAPLES. 

EXHIBITED  BY  MARCHIONESS  MAZZECORATI. 
RED    SATIN    EMBROIDERED    COVER,   VENICE,   XV    CENTURY. 

EXHIBITED  BY  COUNTESS  DI  BRAZZA. 

JABOT   OF   JEROME   BONAPARTE.    KING  OF  WESTPHALIA. 

FLOUNCE  OF  THE  QUEEN  OF  WESTPHALIA.    EXHIBITED  BY  COUNTESS  DI  PAPADOPOLI. 

ITALY. 


268  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

century.  (I  give  precedence  to  the  word  physical,  considering  the 
moral  largely  dependent  upon  it.) 

In  the  Woman's  Building  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  the 
history  of  lace,  from  prehistoric  times  to  the  most  perfect  speci- 
mens of  the  modern  school  of  Burano,  is  illustrated  in  a  collection 
of  great  interest,  including  the  priceless  antique  laces  graciously 
lent  by  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Italy. 

There  is  a  complete  set  of  antique  bobbins  of  bone,  terra  cotta, 
bronze,  and  ivory,  and  the  figure  of  a  woman  with  her  pillow  of 
unfinished  lace  to  illustrate  the  process. 

The  revival  of  the  lace  industry  has  resulted  all  over  Italy  in  the 
greatest  benefit  to  the  peasantry,  the  success  of  which  is  greatly  ow- 
ing to  the  indefatigable  energy  of  an  American,  Cora  Sloconib,  Count- 
ess di  Brazza,  whose  untiring  example  has  inspired  many  others. 

It  is  customary  to  think  of  Italy  as  a  country  that  has  had  her 
day.  No  mistake  is  greater.  Bologna,  the  quaint  old  university 
town,  with  her  leaning  towers,  her  picturesque  arcaded  streets,  and 
medieval  palaces,  is  still  mentally  alive,  and  has  kept  awake  dur- 
ing the  long  sleep  of  centuries  in  which  some  of  the  nations  lay 
unconscious. 

There  are  at  present  fifteen  women  students  in  the  university, 
the  most  learned  of  whom  is  a  Signorina  Catani  of  Imola,  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age,  who  has  been  a  student  there  for  nine  years,  and 
is  now  assistant  to  Professor  Tizzoni  in  "general  pathology."  She  is 
a  worthy  successor  to  the  famous  Bolognese  women  of  the  past  who 
occupied  the  chairs  of  philosophy,  jurisprudence,  and  medicine. 

Among  these,  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  the  famous  Novella 
lectured  upon  philosophy.  Her  beauty  equaled  her  learning,  so 
that  she  was  obliged  to  lecture  behind  a  veil  in  order  not  to  endan- 
ger the  peace  of  mind  of  the  sterner  sex! 

In  the  thirteenth  century  Bettisia  Gozzadini  was  a  "  reader  of 
law  "  in  the  university.  Her  portrait  is  in  Bologna,  a  truly  lovely 
head,  an  ideal  Portia! 

Laura  Bassi,  wife  of  Professor  Verati,  was  professor  of  philosophy, 
and  equally  learned  in  mathematics  and  physics.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  Academy  of  Bologna,and  devoted  her  leisure  to  writing  poetry. 

The  pride  of  Bologna,  the  woman  whom  the  university  justly 
delights  to  honor,  is  Anna  Manzolini,  who,  1 1 5  years  ago,  filled  the 
chair  of  anatomy  at  the  university.  Her  wonderful  anatomical 
reproductions  in  wax,  as  well  as  the  portrait  busts  of  herself  and 
her  husband  which  she  modeled,  are  still  to  be  seen  there.  She 
was  made  an  honorary  member  of  all  the  scientific  and  literary 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  269 

academies  of  Europe,  and  offered  professorships  in  Milan,  London, 
and  St.  Petersburg,  but  she  never  left  Bologna. 

The  famous  Clotilde  Tambroni  filled  the  Greek  professorship  at 
the  university  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  and  is  naively 
described  by  her  Italian  biographer  as  "  singularly  modest  in  voice, 


MACRAME    TOWELS. 

MODERN  AND  ANCIENT  DESIGNS.    THE  EVOLUTION  OF  MACRAME  FROM 
SIMPLE  KNOTS  TO  FINE  LACE.     ITA:  Y. 

gestures,  and  dress,  even  at  the  hcigJit  of  her  glory."  The  future  of 
Italy  is  as  full  of  hope  as  her  past  is  rich  in  example,  and  under 
the  stimulating  influence  of  Margherita  di  Savoia,  not  merely 
"  Queen  of  Italy,"  but  intellectually  the  highest  lady  in  the  land, 
the  future  of  woman  grows  daily  brighter 

EVA  MARIOTTI. 


EMBROIDERY.     CHARLOTTE  GEORGEVILLE.    FRANCE. 


WOMAN'S  POSITION  IN  THE   SPANISH-AMERICAN 

STATES. 

IN  order  to  obtain  a  correct  appreciation  of  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  Spanish-American  woman  it  will  be  necessary  to 
bear  in  mind  the  influence  exerted  by  many  circumstances 
appertaining  to  ancient  times,  as  well  as  the  action  of  more  recent 
and  immediate  causes. 

The  bulk  of  the  Spanish-American  population  is  mainly  com- 
posed of  two  elements:  First,  the  descendants  of  the  Spanish  con- 
querors. Second,  the  native  Indian  races  of  Central  and  South 
America.  The  first  one,  although  far  inferior  in  numbers,  has 
always  been  and  continues  to  be  the  only  ruling  power  in  all  the 
states. 

These  two  elements  brought  into  contact  during  four  centuries 
have  never  become  assimilated  to  any  considerable  extent.  It 
might  be  said  that  they  have  rather  kept  themselves  at  a  distance 
from  each  other,  so  that  the  overwhelming  majority  still  remains  a 
pure-blooded  Indian,  while  only  a  small  portion  of  it  has  become 
mixed  with  the  Spanish  race. 

But  even  this  partial  union  of  those  elements  could  not  produce 
any  substantial  change  in  the  position  of  woman  in  the  Spanish- 
American  colonies.  She  had  always  lived  surrounded  by  a  similar 
atmosphere  and  placed  under  similar  circumstances  in  Spanish  as 
well  as  in  Indian  civilization,  her  field  of  action  never  extending 
beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  family  and  of  religious  institutions, 
the  church,  convent,  etc.  In  public  life  she  was  totally  absent,  abso- 
lutely ignored,  as  if  she  could  not  have  any  political  significance 
whatever.  Beyond  the  walls  of  the  family  dwellings  she  could 
become  nothing  but  a  Spanish  nun  or  an  Indian  vestal. 

The  form  of  government  was  essentially  monarchical  and  theo- 
cratic in  Spain,  as  it  was  in  Indian  countries.  The  divine  right  of 
kings  was  the  same  in  both;  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  in  the 
course  of  several  centuries  the  most  exclusive  religious  sentiment 
became  the  main  characteristic  of  the  population.  It  must  be 
added  that  the  secular  war  in  which  Spain  fought  for  national 

(271) 


PARIS  VASE— MEDALLION  IN  POLYCHROME  PAINTING  ON  GRAY  ENAMEL. 
MME.  E.  APOIL.    FRANCE. 


IN    THE    WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


273 


independence  and  religious  creed  made  a  single  block  of  these 
two  principles,  and  fused  patriotic  feeling  and  the  Catholic  faith 
to  such  a  degree  that  they  became  one  and  the  same  thought  and 
aspiration  in  every  part  of  that  warlike  and  proud  nation.  Such 
is  the  mold  in  which  Spanish- American  character  was  shaped. 


BAS  RELIEF— "OPHELIA."    SARAH  BERNHARDT.    FRANCE. 

The  effects  of  this  cause  were,  of  course,  much  deeper  in 
woman's  character,  owing  to  her  natural  sensibility,  her  instinctive 
religious  tendency,  and  the  docility  with  which  she  adapts  herself 
to  the  influences  prevailing  in  her  home.  Being  inexorably  ex- 
cluded from  all  participation  in  political  or  public  life,  her  patriotic 

18 


IN   THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  275 

feeling  remained  latent,  the  whole  of  her  activity  being  thus  com- 
pletely absorbed  by  her  domestic  duties  and  religious  worship. 

Laws,  traditions,  and  habits  worked  together  in  restraining  to 
an  excessive  degree  the  freedom  and  power  of  woman,  even  in  the 
narrow  field  of  her  strictly  private  life.  Her  existence  from  begin- 
ning to  end  passed  in  passive  submission  to  the  authority  and  will 
of  her  lord  and  master;  and  in  spite  of  the  chivalrous  character  of 
the  Spaniard,  the  companion  of  his  life  was  no  better  than  any  of 
her  oriental  ancestors,  an  imprisoned  or  enslaved  beauty,  deprived 
of  all  the  blessings  and  advantages  of  education  and  learning. 

Yet  it  is  doubtful  if  there  are  more  intelligent  or  better  endowed 
women  in  any  region  of  the  earth.  Her  quick  comprehension,  her 
bright  imagination,  her  artistic  propensities,  her  truly  wonderful 
precocity,  and  even  her  impulsive  and  passionate  character,  will  evi- 
dently mark  in  the  course  of  time  the  transformation  of  this  brill- 
iant and  fascinating  spoiled  child  into  the  noblest  type  of  woman, 
shining  amidst  the  elements  of  national  and  universal  progress. 
I  am  conscious  of  not  overestimating  the  richness  of  her  nature 
when  I  affirm  that  there  is  no  heroic  self-abnegation,  no  sublime 
ideal,  no  delicate  refinement,  no  degree  of  moral  courage  to  which 
she  can  not  rise. 

The  war  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Spanish  colonies  of  Amer- 
ica was  the  first  shock  that  awakened  the  Spanish-American 
woman  from  her  slumbers,  and  opened  to  her  astonished  eyes  a 
new  and  brilliant  horizon.  She  was  everywhere  an  enthusiastic 
agent  and  a  devoted  champion  of  the  independent  party,  carrying 
her  action  so  far  that  on  several  occasions  the  Spanish  military 
executions  reddened  with  her  blood  the  soil  she  labored  to  liberate. 

During  the  protracted  period  of  internal  convulsion  and  civil 
war  that  preceded  the  organization  and  present  state  of  the  Span- 
ish-American republics,  the  influence  of  woman  was  frequently 
felt  in  prominent  events  of  political  life.  She  had  no  right  granted 
by  law  to  interfere  with  such  matters,  but  she  deemed  her  right  to 
be  sufficiently  justified  by  her  own  self-sacrifice  in  the  war  for 
independence.  Her  action  was  in  many  instances  an  efficient 
force  that  brought  about  the  final  solution,  and  gave  rise  to  deep 
changes — nay,  to  the  very  existence  of  new  governments. 

In  later  years  new  laws  have  swept  away  some  of  the  most 
powerful  obstacles  opposed  by  ancient  legislation  to  the  improve- 
ment of  woman's  position  in  private  and  public  life.  The  barrier 
of  religious  intolerance  was  partially  demolished  in  several  of  the 
new  republics,  and  the  free  access  of  foreign  immigration  to  their 


276 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


respective  territories  produced  a  large  number  of  inter-marriages 

and  of  new  homes  where  an  enlightened  and  liberal  spirit  prevails. 

Public   and  private  education  began  to  spread  in   the  upper 

classes  of  the  young  nations,  although  for  the  most  part  it  still 


PAINTING— "THB  OLD  MAN'S  SOUP."     MME.  ARTHUR  ARNOULD.     FRANCE. 

remained  in  the  hands  of  sectarian  teachers  and  religious  institu- 
tions. But  in  the  last  score  of  years  a  most  considerable  progress 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  united  action  of  governments  and 
private  individuals  in  the  principal  Spanish-American  states. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  277 

It  is  with  the  deepest  feeling  of  joy  and  pride  that  I  call  atten- 
tion to  the  influence  of  our  sex  in  this  great  evolution.  Nearly  all 
the  schools  for  girls  are  actually  placed  under  the  control  of  female 
teachers;  normal  schools  for  women  are  amply  supported  or  pro- 
tected by  the  national  authorities;  large  and  beautiful  buildings, 
that  in  some  cities  are  true  palaces,  have  been  erected  for  educa- 
tional purposes;  and  hundreds  of  foreign  professors  are  being  con- 
tinually brought  from  their  native  countries  to  the  hospitable  and 
promising  homes  of  Spanish  America. 

The  majority  of  female  teachers  are  native  girls,  who  have 
obtained  reliable  credentials  ;  and  it  can  be  confidently  asserted 
that  there  will  be  in  the  future  no  lack  or  deficiency  in  the  supply 
of  intelligent  direction  for  all  public  schools. 

This  has  been  the  first  authorized  step  of  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can woman's  career  beyond  the  limits  of  domestic  life.  Another 
important  movement,  attained  by  a  strength  of  will  and  moral 
courage  of  which  no  one  unacquainted  with  Spanish  countries  can 
even  form  an  idea,  is  the  admission  lately  granted  to  female  students 
to  the  curriculum  of  the  regular  universities. 

To  duly  appreciate  this  success  it  will  be  necessary  to  remember 
certain  circumstances  peculiar  to  several  of  the  Spanish-American 
countries  which  formed  an  almost  impassable  barrier  against  so 
great  an  innovation.  For  many  generations  woman  had  been 
regarded  in  every  Spanish  community  as  a  being  deprived  by  nature 
of  every  condition  of  mind  and  character  fit  for  any  sober  or  serious 
purpose.  She  could  be  but  a  comfort  and  an  ornament  in  the  home 
of  her  proud  and  indolent  master.  On  the  other  hand,  with  the 
exception  of  legal  and  military  affairs,  labor  in  whatever  form  was 
sincerely  despised  by  the  nobility,  or  governing  class,  of  the  country. 
Even  such  professions  as  medicine,  architecture,  and  engineering 
(as  it  existed  at  the  time)  were  carried  on  by  individuals  of  the 
colored  race,  and  not  infrequently  by  slaves.  Contempt  for  labor 
had  thus  become  in  all  classes  of  society  a  habit,  an  instinct,  a 
deeply  rooted  feeling,  that  even  to  this  day  shows  its  vitality  in 
spite  of  foreign  intercourse  and  advanced  education.  Daily  expe- 
rience, with  its  eloquent  teachings,  has  to  a  certain  extent  under- 
mined that  ancient  prejudice.  Still,  what  remains  of  the  old  spirit 
is  enough  to  shake  the  most  resolute  courage. 

It  might  therefore  be  said  in  all  truth  that  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can woman  has  carried  the  position  by  storm,  and  she  may  justly 
be  proud  of  her  new  victory. 

Although  in  very  limited  numbers,  there  are  at  present  lawyers, 


278  ART    AM)    HANDICRAFT 

physicians,  dentists,  midwives  of  the  female  sex,  who  sustain  a 
decorous  position  among  their  male  colleagues. 

The  expansive  force  of  her  natural  talent  has  found  a  broad 
field  besides  in  almost  every  branch  of  art  and  literature — drawing, 
painting,  music,  poetry,  romance  afford  a  pleasant  employment  for 
the  leisure  hours  of  the  educated  woman,  and  in  many  instances 
have  given  her  a  reputation  which  extends  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  her  native  country.  Several  women  rank  as  high  in  Spanish  liter- 
ature, especially  in  poetry,  as  some  of  the  old  classic  writers,  and 
stand  almost  on  a  level  with  the  very  best  poets  of  the  present  day. 

Even  the  political  press  begins  to  feel  the  influence  of  woman, 
there  being  already  a  few  daily  or  periodical  newspapers  edited 
by  women,  and  devoted  to  the  interest  of  some  political  organiza- 
tion. It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  they  are  always  enthusiastic 
defenders  of  woman's  rights. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  foregoing  remarks  concern 
only  a  small  class  of  women  placed  in  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances, and  that  even  among  them  literary  and  artistic  labor  are 
not  professional.  Still,  there  is  no  doubt  that  before  long  it  will 
become  as  useful  and  productive  as  any  career  opened  to  the  activity 
of  our  sex. 

The  number  of  girls  and  women  belonging  to  the  middle  class 
(and  they  are  generally  more  or  less  educated)  who  find  in  their 
own  exertions  some  means  of  support  is  very  limited  indeed.  In 
the  great  majority  of  cases  they  remain  a  burden  to  their  parents, 
their  husbands,  or  some  other  male  members  of  the  family;  and,  in 
spite  of  their  natural  disinterestedness,  girls  are  sometimes  induced 
to  accept  a  marriage  by  necessity  rather  than  by  choice. 

This  truly  deplorable  condition  of  affairs  can  not  be  suddenly 
changed,  as  it  is  a  natural  effect  of  the  peculiar  organization  of 
Spanish  society.  The  Spaniard,  and,  still  more,  his  American 
descendant,  deems  himself  disgraced,  dishonored,  if  it  is  known 
that  his  wife,  his  daughter,  or  his  sister  works  for  her  living,  or  for 
the  improvement  of  her  home.  Such  a  prejudice  and  false  pride 
could  only  have  arisen  in  the  period  of  fantastic  wealth,  when 
almost  everybody  lived  rich  and  happy  in  the  Spanish  colonies 
without  the  trouble  of  any  personal  labor,  for  all  the  work  was 
carried  on  by  slaves.  That  immense  wealth  passed  away  long 
ago,  yet  the  old  proud  feeling  still  remains.  How  long  will  it  last? 

Let  us  hope  that  more  frequent  intercourse  with  foreign  peoples, 
together  with  the  necessity  of  securing  domestic  happiness  by 
providing  young  girls  with  elements  of  self-support,  so  as  to  make 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


279 


them  the  companions  and  helpmates,  not  the  servile  attendants,  of 
their  husbands,  will  soon  do  away  with  that  unnatural  inactivity  of 
so  many  intelligent  and  educated  women. 

With  the  exception  of  some  of  the  post  office,  telephone,  and 
telegraphic  offices,  there  is  not  a  single  official  bureau  where  women 
are  regularly  employed  ;  and  besides  certain  lines  of  tramways  in 
a  few  cities,  and  occasionally  in  a  small  number  of  stores  and  shops, 
they  are  never  seen  anywhere  in  the  vast  field  of  public  or  private 
activity. 

To  close  the  series  of  these  brief 
notes,  I  submit  two  very  significant 
•  facts,  viz.:  First,  the  spirit  of  associa- 
tion for  serious  and  useful  purposes, 
lately  initiated  among  the  Spanish- 
American  women  and  attaining  every 
day  more  remarkable  proportions. 
Second,  the  ever-increasing  circula- 
tion of  literary  and  scientific  books 
and  periodicals  among  the  women  of 
the  principal  cities  in  almost  every 
one  of  those.  States. 

It  is  the  moral  duty,  as  well  as  the 
practical  interest,  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can people  to  extend  to  the  young  and 
promising  nations  of  Spanish-America 
the  influence  of  their  modern  insti- 
tutions, and  the  liberal  and  progress- 
ive spirit  which  is  advancing  the  cause 
of  woman  ;  and  very  particularly  the 
atmosphere  of  freedom  and  encour- 
agement that  surrounds  the  life  of  our 
sex  in  the  North.  No  field  richer  in 
promise  can  be  opened  to  their  energies  than  the  more  complete 
social  emancipation  of  the  Spanish-American  woman — a  blessing 
of  which  she  has  proved  to  be  worthy  in  every  respect — and  that  no 
nation  could  as  easily  as  yours  grant  to  these  sympathetic  and 
benevolent  homes.  It  seems  to  me  an  axiomatic  truth  that  to  com- 
plete the  personality  of  woman  in  the  domestic  and  social  life  is 
to  secure  her  legitimate  influence  and  civilizing  power  in  the  gen- 
eral evolution  of  mankind. 

MATILDE  G.  DE  MIRO  QUESADA. 


EMBOSSED  COPPERS. 
ROSALIE  JUEL.     SVVKDEN. 


WATER    COLOR    PORTRAIT    OF    HER    MAJESTY    THE    EMPRESS    OF    RUSSIA. 

MLLE.  KRANESKOI. 


RUSSIA. 

OUT  of  the  distant  gloom  of  the  earliest  period  of  our  history 
a  woman's  name  shines  among  the  beams  that  lightened 
the  dawn  of  Christianity. 

Princess  Olga,  widow  of  Prince  Igor,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
tenth  century,  went  to  Byzantium  to  be  baptized  in  the  Christian 
faith.  During  the  minority  of  her  son  Sviatoslav,  she  ruled  her 
land  and  its  chief  town,  Kieff.  The  chronicles  never  use  her  name 
without  the  apellation  of  "  most  wise."  The  church  has  canonized 
her. 

When,  in  the  year  989,  her  grandson,  Prince  Vladimir,  was  on 
the  point  of  making  the  choice  of  one  of  the  Christian  creeds  for 
himself  and  his  people,  he  said:  "  Our  grandmother  Olga,  who  was 
the  wisest  woman,  was  baptized  in  Greece,"  and  this  settled  it. 
He  was  married  to  the  Byzantine  Princess  Ann,  sister  of  the 
emperors  Constantine  and  Basil.  In  the  second  half  of  the 
eleventh  century  two  Russian  princesses,  daughters  of  Yaroslar, 
were  Queen  of  France  and  Queen  of  Sweden.  In  the  course  of 
later  history,  names  of  women  but  seldom  appear,  for  the  way  of 
living  prohibited  them  from  taking  any  prominent  part  in  social 
life.  They  lived  in  a  separate  part  of  the  house — so  often  men- 
tioned in  songs  and  poetry,  the  "  Terem"  (the  "  ladies'  high  bower  " 
of  English  poems) — and  they  were  but  very  seldom  allowed  to 
come  into  men's  society.  The  Tartar  yoke,  that  lasted  from  1224- 
1480,  and  had  such  a  disastrous  influence  on  the  development  of 
our  civilization,  in  keeping  us  back  for  over  two  centuries,  must  be 
taken  in  consideration  when  speaking  of  the  women  at  this  period. 
The  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  is  generally  considered  as  the  epoch 
of  a  complete  change  in  the  Russian  woman's  social  position,  but  a 
gradual  advance  toward  it  can  be  followed  up  for  a  long  time  before. 
In  the  fifteenth  century,  after  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  John  III., 
Grand  Duke  of  Moscow,  married  the  Byzantine  Princess  Sophia 
Paleologue  (hence  the  Byzantine  eagle  adopted  as  the  Russian  coat- 
of-arms) ;  from  this  time  several  names  of  women  appear  in  history. 

Though  they  are  not  in  immediate  connection  with  any  special 

(388) 


PEN   AND   INK   SKETCH— LANDSCAPE.    BY  THE   PRINCESS  IMIRETINSKY.    RUSSIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  285 

event,  they  must  be  mentioned  on  account  of  the  influence  they 
had  on  their  surroundings.  In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  the  handsome  and  intelligent  Helen  Glinsky  was  known 
for  the  power  she  had  over  her  husband,  Grand  Duke  Vassili, 
father  of  John  IV.  A  happy  period  in  the  reign  of  this  cruel 
monarch,  surnamed  "  The  Terrible,"  is  due  to  the  influence  of 
Anastasia  Romanovna,  one  of  his  seven  wives.  His  son  Theodor's 
wife,  Jrina  Godounova,  was  extolled  by  all  foreign  travelers  and 
ambassadors  who  came  to  Moscow,  for  her  charms  and  beauty  and 
her  wise  and  loving  dealings  with  her  husband,  who  lacked  strength 
both  in  mind  and  body. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  family  of 
the  boyar  Artamon  Matveieff  was  one  of  the  most  cultivated  in 
Moscow.  In  this  house  Tsar  Alexis  (the  second  of  the  present 
reigning  family  of  Romanoffs),  who  was  a  widower  at  this  time, 
met  the  young  Nathalie  Kirilovna  Narishkine,  his  host's  ward. 
The  handsome  girl  captivated  the  sovereign's  heart,  became  his 
wife,  and  mother  of  Peter  the  Great. 

By  his  first  wife  Alexis  had  a  daughter  who  was  certainly  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  figures  of  her  time.  She  was  intelligent  and 
devoted  to  literature,  encouraged  dramatic  art,  and  composed  some 
tragedies,  which  unfortunately  are  lost.  During  the  minority  of 
her  brothers,  John  and  Peter,  the  Princess  Sophia  ruled  the  king- 
dom in  their  name.  Foreign  ambassadors  who  were  received  in 
state  at  the  Muscovite  court  were  strongly  impressed  by  the  sight 
of  two  royal  boys  sitting  on  a  double-seated  throne,  and  obeying 
the  whisper  of  a  female  voice  coming  from  behind  a  curtain.  Her 
political  wisdom  and  popularity  among  the  people  and  the  army 
were  such  that  Peter,  at  a  later  period,  considered  her  of  such  dan- 
gerous importance  that  she  was  captured,  relegated  to  a  monastery, 
and  forced  to  take  the  veil. 

The  first  years  of  the  last  century  mark  the  turning-point  in 
our  women's  social  life.  Among  the  innovations  that  Peter  the 
Great  imposed  on  the  society  of  the  newly  rising  St.  Petersburg 
were  the  so-called  "  assemblies,"  or  evening  parties,  held  at  court, 
where  ladies  were  obliged  to  be  present,  much  to  the  annoyance  of 
the  grumbling  partisans  of  "  olden  times."  After  Peter  the  Great's 
death,  in  1725,  his  widow,  Catharine  I.,  was  the  first  of  a  series  of 
women  who  sat  on  the  imperial  throne,  interrupted  only  by  the 
short  reigns  of  Peter  II.  and  Peter  III.  These  empresses  were 
Ann,  Duchess  of  Courland,  Peter  the  Great's  niece;  Elizabeth,  his 
daughter;  and  lastly,  Catharine  II.  the  Great. 


ANCIENT    RUSSIAN    HEAD-GEAR.      EXHIBITED   BY    M.MK.    SCHABELSKOI.     RUSSIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  287 

A  mention  is  due  of  the  name  of  the  famous  friend  of  the  latter, 
the  Princess  Dashkoff,  president  of  the  Academy  of  Science  in  St. 
Petersburg.  Of  great  culture  and  learning,  she  was  known  as  well 
abroad  as  in  Russia.  She  had  traveled  much,  and  carried  on  a 
large  correspondence  with  scientific  men.  Her  interesting  memoirs, 
written  in  French,  form  a  volume  of  the  "  Prince  WorontzofFs 
archives." 

The  first  female  educational  institutions  date  from  the  reign  of 
Catharine  the  Great.  Seminaries  for  girls  of  noble  families  were 
founded,  the  education  given  being  somewhat  like  the  French 
convent  education. 

Empress  Maria  Theo4orovna,  wife  of  Paul  I.,  continued  the 
same  work.  With  untiring  and  never-failing  love  she  encouraged 
all  private  and  official  activity  in  the  field  of  education  and  charity. 
The  number  of  seminaries,  schools,  hospitals,  homes,  etc.,  opened 
under  her  high  patronage  grew  to  such  an  extent  that  after  her 
death  it  was  considered  necessary  to  found  a  special  ministry  for 
their  management;  they  formed  the  "Institutions  of  Empress 
Maria,"  and  have  been  ever  since  the  object  of  special  care  to  all 
our  empresses. 

In  the  middle  of  this  century  rises  a  brilliant  name  indissolubly 
connected  with  all  the  great  events  of  her  time.  The  Grand 
Duchess  Helene  Pavlovna,  sister-in-law  of  Nicholas  I.,  was  remarka- 
ble, not  only  for  her  talents,  but  also  for  the  fascinating  power  she 
had  of  attracting  around  her  all  who  were  prominent  in  literature, 
art,  science,  and  politics.  The  musical  and  literary  gatherings 
in  the  "  Palais  Michel "  were  famous.  She  founded  and  was  the 
first  president  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Musical  Conservatory. 
Emperor  Alexander  II.  highly  appreciated  her  intelligence,  and 
she  was  one  of  his  nearest  counselors  in  the  great  act  of  the 
emancipation  of  serfs.  In  her  charity  and  educational  activity, 
which  was  great,  she  was  efficiently  assisted  by  Baroness  Edith 
Rahden.  The  work  is  continued  by  her  daughter,  the  Grand 
Duchess  Catherine,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  institutions  and  schools 
of  the  Patriotic  Society. 

This  brings  us  to  our  own  times,  in  which  the  great  increase  of 
feminine  activity  strikes  us  so  much  that  I  feel  the  insufficiency  of 
my  pen  to  do  justice  to  this  vast  theme.  So  many  namse 
shine  in  so  many  different  branches  that  it  is  impossible  to  give 
here  any  just  account  of  this  activity.  A  great  impulse  to  education 
has  been  given  by  the  foundation  of  establishments  of  different 
types,  especially  gymnasiums  and  progymnasiums,  not  only  in  the 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


289 


chief  towns,  but  even  in  the  small  provincial  places.  Finally  the 
higher  university  education  was  opened  to  women  in  1872,  in 
Petersburg,  Moscow,  Kieff,  and  KharkofL  Private  initiative  and 


REPRODUCTION    OF    CURTAIN    OF    THE    THRONE    OF    THE    CZARS 

JEAN    AND    PETER,    1681. 

LENT  KV  MME.  SCHABELSKOI,  MEMBER  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  RUSSIAN 
HISTORICAL  MUSEUM. 

means  have  greatly  contributed  to  the  development  of  the  inter- 
mediate and  higher  education,  such  as  the  gymnasiums  of  Mme. 
Taganzeff  Soiounine,  Princess  Obolensky  in  Petersburg,  Mme. 

19 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  291 

Perepeltine  Tchepelevsky  Zabeline  in  Moscow,  and  many  others. 
Mme.  Sibiriakoff  (from  Siberia)  has  done  much  for  the  advanced 
courses  of  philology  and  natural  science  in  St.  Petersburg,  which 
are  held  in  a  great  building  provided  with  all  resources  for  study- 
ing, such  as  a  library,  laboratories,  etc. 

In  Science  a  conspicuous  place  belongs  to  the  much-lamented 
Mme.  Kovalevsky,  who  was  a  distinguished  mathematician  and 
writer.  At  the  Astronomical  Congress  in  Paris  she  took  the 
first  prize  for  her  essay,  "  On  the  Movement  of  a  Spherical  Body 
round  an  Immutable  Point."  She  was  corresponding  member  of 
the  Parisian  Academy  of  Science,  and  was  appointed  professor  of 
astronomy  at  the  men's  university  of  Stockholm.  She  died  two 
years  ago,  not  much  over  thirty  years  of  age. 

An  honorable  place  belongs  to  Countess  Ouvaroff ,  who,  after  the 
death  of  her  husband,  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  the 
Archaeological  Society  and  director  of  the  Archaeological  Museum  at 
Moscow. 

Medicine  has  been  much  studied  by  women  in  the  last  twenty 
years.  Over  seven  hundred  women  who  have  been  graduated  as 
doctors  are  scattered  over  the  country,  being  of  incalculable  help, 
especially  in  the  southeastern  part  of  our  country,  to  the  Moham- 
medan population,  where  women  are  debarred  from  receiving  mas- 
culine medical  help.  Mesdames  Sousloff,  Schepeleff,  Koshevaroff, 
Tarnovsky,  and  others  have  acquired  a  reputation  in  the  medical 
world. 

Besides  this,  in  the  smallest  rural  hospital  every  doctor  is 
assisted  by  a  trained  professional  nurse. 

The  institution  of  the  Red  Cross  is  of  great  importance,  and  has 
never  failed  in  any  occasion  of  war,  famine,  or  epidemic.  One  of  its 
first-rate  establishments,  the  Community  of  St.  Georges,  in  Peters- 
burg, is  under  the  high  patronage  of  the  Princess  Eugenie  of 
Oldenbourg,  and  is  directed  by  the  Countess  E.  Haydn. 

In  Literature,  in  the  first  quarter  of  this  century,  the  name  of 
Countess  Rostopchine  is  in  that  pleiad-like  group  of  poets  that 
group  themselves  around  the  brilliant  figures  of  Poushkine  and 
Lermontoff.  At  that  epoch  of  intense  literary  life  in  Moscow,  the 
salon  of  the  Princess  Zeneide  Wolkonsky  was  the  meeting,  place 
of  all  writers  and  poets.  She  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
women  of  her  time,  a  distinguished  musician,  and  very  literary. 
She  left  some  writings,  among  them  an  interesting  correspondence 
with  the  Polish  poet  Mickievicz.  A  similar  salon,  renowned  for  its 
political  influence  and  literary  importance,  was  held  in  Paris  by 


TERRA    COTTA    BUST.     PRINCESS  SCHAKOWSKOY.    RUSSIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  293 

the  Russian  ambassador's  wife,  Princess  Lie ven,  intimate  friend  of 
Guizot  and  other  French  celebrities  of  this  time. 

Valuable  memoirs  have  been  left  by  Empress  Catharine  the 
Great,  Empress  Maria  Theodovoura  (not  published),  Countess 
Choiseul  Gouffie,  Mme.  Passek,  Countess  Bloudoff,  and  the  still 
living  Mme.  Shestakoff,  sister  of  the  composer  Glinka. 

In  our  days  Mmes.  Olga  Shapiro,  Eugenie  Tour  (Countess 
Salias),  Krestovsky,  and  Kohanovsky  are  distinguished  and  very 
popular  novelists.  Many  women  devote  their  pen  to  literature  for 
children  and  youths.  The  name  of  Mme.  Novikoff  (Olga  Kireieff) 
is  well  known  by  all  who  are  interested  in  political  writings. 

In  Art  women  chiefly  excel  in  its  application  to  industry.  A 
great  deal  has  been  done  by  them  to  raise  the  level  of  artistic  taste. 
Mme.  Couriard  has  the  merit  of  being  the  initiator  of  the  first 
women's  artistic  club  in  St.  Petersburg,  which  she  has  directed  for 
many  years.  Much  is  due  in  this  connection  to  the  school  of  the 
"  Society  of  Encouragement  of  Arts  "  and  its  rich  museum,  founded 
by  the  late  Grand  Duchess  Maria  Nicolaevna,  president  of  the 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts. 

As  individual  artists  we  must  mention  Mme.  Lagoda  Shishkine 
and  Marie  Bashkirtzeff,  who  both,  unfortunately,  died  young.  The 
latter  has  the  honor  of  being  represented  in  the  Luxembourg 
picture  gallery  in  Paris.  Mile.  Polienoff  is  a  distinguished  painter 
and  clever  connoisseur.  Mmes.  Boehm  and  Beggrow-Hartmann  are 
original  painters  of  children  scenes  and  portraits.  As  sculptors, 
Mme.  Van-der-Hoven  and  Mme.  Dulon. 

In  Music,  Mme.  Essipoff  was  pronounced  by  Liszt  the  first  female 
pianist  of  our  time. 

In  Dramatic  Art,  Mme.  Samoiloff  has  left  a  great  name,  and 
Mmes.  Fedotoff  and  Yermoloff  are  the  ornaments  of  the  Moscow 
Dramatic  Theater  at  this  moment. 

The  last  few  years  have  brought  up  quite  a  new  kind  of  activity 
that  consists  in  helping,  encouraging,  and  directing  the  rural  indus- 
tries of  peasant  women.  Hand-made  laces,  embroideries,  rugs,  car- 
pets, spinning,  weaving,  knitting,  etc.,  have  all  been  taken  under  their 
patronage  by  lady  land-owners  in  their  country  places.  Schools, 
museums,  stores,  and  bazars  have  been  arranged  in  the  largest  towns, 
so  as  to  make  these  products  known,  and  facilitate  their  sale. 

Mme.  A.  Narishkine  in  the  province  of  Tamboff,  Mme.  G. 
Narishkine,  Mme.  Davidoff ,  Mme.  Mamontoff  near  Moscow,  Princess 
Ouroussoff  in  Toula,  and  many  others  devote  their  time,  money, 
and  energy  toward  enlarging  and  spreading  these  industries. 


ANCIENT     RUSSIAN     HEAD-GEAR.      EXHIBITED    BY    MME.    SCHABELSKOI.      RUSSIA. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  295 

Mme.  Schabelskoy's  most  wonderful  and  rare  collection  of 
Russian  woman's  ancient  work  is  not  yet  open  to  the  public,  but  is 
of  greatest  scientific  importance  as  saving  from  oblivion  old 
patterns  and  designs. 

Of  Charity  I  find  it  unnecessary  to  speak,  for  in  Russia,  as  every- 
where else,  woman  has  always  considered  it  her  special  field. 

Something  of  the  status  of  Russian  woman  can  be  learned  from 
the  following  details:  She  inherits  (when  there  is  no  special 
testament)  the  fourteenth  part  of  her  father's  and  seventh  part 
of  her  husband's  fortune.  In  marrying  she  keeps  all  rights  of 
possession  in  complete  equality  with  the  man.  Land-owning  gives 
her  all  the  same  privileges,  such  as  voting  (not  personally,  but  by 
proxy)  in  the  provincial  and  municipal  elections. 

Thus  we  see  that  Russian  woman  takes  a  great  part  in  the 
social  and  political  life  of  her  country;  and  that  whichever  way  man 
wishes  to  direct  his  activity,  woman  will  always  stand  by  him  with 
helping  and  encouraging  hand. 

Our  national  literature  that  has  always  truly  represented  Russian 
life  in  all  its  depths  and  variety  has  made  of  the  Russian  woman 
a  beloved  and  inexhaustible  subject.  Its  masterpieces  offer  high- 
est examples  of  feminine  character;  the  type  has  been  immortal- 
ized by  the  pen  of  such  men  as  Poushkine,  Tolstoy,  Tourgueneff, 
Gontcharoff,  and  Russian  women  can  be  proud  of  the  tribute  that 
fiction  pays  to  reality. 

PRINCESS  M.  SCHAHOVSKOY. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  beautiful  entrance  of  the  Russian  section.  This  is  a 
reproduction  of  a  Byzantine  gate  of  the  twelfth  century,  in  the  famous  church  of 
Tourieff  Polski.  It  is  made  of  oak,  and  is  a  triumph  of  fine  joiner's  work,  not  one 
nail  being  used.  The  quaint  and  delicate  design  is  produced  by  a  method  invented 
by  the  Princess  Schakowskoy.  The  surface  of  the  wood  is  overlaid  with  real  gold- 
leaf,  from  which  the  design  is  burnt  out.  The  color  produced  by  the  gold  sinking 
into  the  wood  is  very  rich  and  unique.  We  are  glad  to  learn  that  this  piece  of  work, 
which  was  designed  and  made  by  Russian  women,  may  be  bought  and  retained  in 
our  countrv  at  the  close  of  the  Fair. — ED. 


PAIXTEO   GLASS   WIXT*OW. 


SWEDEN. 

THE  love  of  knowledge  is  a  distinguishing  feature  in  the  char- 
acter of  Swedes. 

The  Swedish  woman  has  not  manifested  less  love   of 
knowledge  than  is  attributed  to  her  nation. 

A  certain  amount  of  school  education  has  for  centuries  been 
considered  necessary  to  woman,  and,  especially  in  the  middle  of 
this  century,  claims  arose  for  a  higher  standard  in  her  education. 


ALTAR    PIECE  — ROMANESQUE    STYLE. 
DESIGNED  BY  A.  BRANTING;  "FRIENDS  OF  HANDIWORK."    SWEDEN. 

The  royal  academies  of  music  and  fine  arts,  the  training  schools 
for  sloid  and  gymnastics  were  opened  to  women,  and  they  have 
the  same  rights  as  men  for  studying  at  the  universities. 

As  teachers,  principals  of  schools,  members  of  school  boards, 
lady  inspectors,  authors  in  pedagogics,  etc.,  women  have  attained 
an  influence  which  is  steadily  increasing. 

The  endeavors  to  raise  the  standard  of  manual  work  has  called 
forth  the  efforts  of  many  Swedish  women.  Misses  Eva  Rodhe  and 
Hulda  Lundin  have  developed  the  excellent  systems  of  sloid.  The 

(299) 


PAINTED    SCREEN  — IMITATION    GOBELIN.      ANNA   BOBERG.    SwEDKN. 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  301 

latter  exhibits  a  series  of  models  in  the  Swedish  section  of  the 
Woman's  Building,  where  is  also  to  be  seen  a  very  fine  collection 
of  fancy  works  from  the  Society  of  Art  Handiwork,  and  from 
Misses  Giobel,  Kulle,  Zickerman,  Ahrberg,  Randel,  Ingelotz,  and 
others. 

This  society  has  in  a  high  degree  refined  the  taste  and  raised 


LINEN    CHATTADUK    WALL    HANGING.     MME.  ClLLUF   ALSSON,  SCANIA.     SWEDEN. 

the  standard  of  woman's  industrial  work.  It  has  adapted  old 
designs  and  encouraged  the  original  Swedish  lace-work,  tapestry, 
and  weaving,  and  by  doing  so  has  preserved  for  the  country  a 
national  industrial  art  which  might  otherwise  have  been  entirely 
lost. 


'302 


ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 


We  find  in  this  section  some  fine  etched  glass  by  Mrs.  Petterson, 
and  a  cistern  in  embossed  copper  by  Mrs.  Juel. 


TAPESTRY.     BENGKA  OLSSON.     SWEDEN. 


An  interesting  medal  exhibit  is  given  by  Lea  Ahlborn,  who  is 
connected  with  the  royal  mint,  and  designs  medals  for  the  govern- 
ment. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


303 


The  portrait  of  the  Queen  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  patroness  of 
the  Swedish  Ladies  Committee  to  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion, hangs  on  the  wall  of  the  booth,  and  is  surrounded  by 
tapestries. 

In  the  library  of  the  building  are  1 30  volumes  by  the  most  emi- 
nent authors,  from  which  we  cite  the  names  of  Sta  Briggita,  Fredrika 
Bremer,  Leffler-Caianello,  Benedictson,  Olivecrona,  Adlersparre, 
Roos,  and  others. 

Several  portraits  have  been  hung  in  Assembly  Hall.     Among 
them  are  pictures  of  Jenny  Lind, 
Christine    Nilsson,    Fredrika    Bre- 
mer, and  Sta  Briggita. 

A  stand  holds  music  written  by 
Mrs.  Netzel,  Misses  Aulin,  Andree, 
and  Munktell. 

A  beautiful  portfolio  and  an 
album  in  embossed  leather,  by  Miss 
Gisberg,  incloses  photographs  and 
biographies  of  eminent  musicians 
and  authors  of  the  present  time. 

A  large  number  of  ladies  have 
studied  at  the  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  and  many  female  names  have 
been  prominent  among  the  paint- 
ers of  the  last  decades. 

Among  the  exhibitors  in  the 
Swedish  Section  of  Fine  Arts,  we 
find  Mrs.  Pauli,  Mrs.  Chadwick, 
Misses  Bonnier,  Schultzenheim, 
Keyser,  and  Jolin,  and  in  the  Swed- 
ish pavilion,  water-colors  by  Miss 
Anna  Palm. 

As  we  have  tried  to  show  by 
the  above,  the  Swedish  woman 
takes  a  great  interest  and  an  active 
part  in  the  great  works  of  culture, 
and  it  was,  therefore,  with  much  pleasure  she  received  the 
invitation  from  her  American  sister,  the  most  accomplished  woman 
of  our  time,  to  take  part  in  the  Columbian  Exposition. 

THORBORG  RAPPE. 


LARGE  GOBLET  OF  ETCHED  GLASS. 
HILDA  PETTERSON.     SWEDEN. 


COSTUME    OF    A    ••  HEDEBIPOGE  "—PEASANT    WOMAN    OF    ZEELAND.     DENMARK. 


DENMARK. 

LAND  of  the  North,  of  short  somber  days  and  long  gloomy 
nights!     If  during  half  the  year  nature  seems  to  chastise 
your  people  with  one  hand,  she  blesses  them  with  the  other. 
The  long  winter  evenings  must  perforce  be  spent  at  the  fireside; 


CUSHION   AND   WORKCASE. 

Formerly  Given  by  a  Lover  to  His  Betrothed  ;   from  the  Island  of  Amager. 
EXHIBITED  BY  MME.  HOLMBLAD,  NEE  SCHACK.   DENMARK. 

thus  a  love  of  home  is  developed,  and  with  it  a  cultivation  of 
those  homely  gifts  which  transform  the  cottage  hearth  into  a  school 
of  domestic  art. 

2O  ( 305 ) 


306 


ART   AND   HANDICRAFT 


From  time  immemorial  the  peasants  have  gathered  around 
their  firesides  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  the  men  carving 
wood  or  mending  their  nets,  the  women  busy  with  their  looms  and 


OIL   PAINTING  — FLOWERS. 
BY  QUEEN  LOUISE  OF  DENMARK,  NEE  PRINCESS  OF  HESSE.    DENMARK. 

embroidery,  while  the  village  story-teller  recites  tales  of  war,  of 
love,  and  of  chivalry.  In  the  National  Museum  at  Copenhagen 
and  in  many  Danish  houses  we  find  mementos  of  those  evenings 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  307 

of  long  ago.  In  making  a  selection  for  the  exhibit  of  work  to  be 
sent  to  the  Woman's  Building  at  Chicago,  it  has  been  thought  best 
to  give,  as  it  were,  a  retrospective  glance  at  the  work  of  the  Danish 
women  in  the  past,  as  their  modern  industries  are  fully  represented 
by  Denmark's  general  exhibit. 


OLD    SILK   PETTICOAT. 

In  the  Possession  of  the  d'Arenstorff  Family  for  Two  Hundred  Years 
EXHIBITED  BY  MME.   VALLO,  NEE  D'ARENSTORFF.    DENMARK. 

The  most  ancient  article  in  the  collection  is  a  superb  petticoat, 
embroidered  by  hand,  belonging  to  Madame  Wallo,  nee  d'Arens- 
torff, which  has  been  in  her  family  since  the  seventeenth  century. 
A  baptismal  robe  is  remarkable  for  the  daintiness  of  the  stitchery; 
the  baby  doll,  in  state  swaddling-clothes,  and  the  bridal  veil  are 


308 


ART  AND    HANDICRAFT 


worthy  of  notice.     The  heavy  brocades,  embroidered   linen,  and 


peasant  costumes  are  all  characteristic  and  interesting.     One  rare 


and    beautiful    piece    of   work,  a   sewing   cushion,  has   a   certain 


romantic  interest;  it  is  the  gift  of  a  lover  to  his  betrothed,  and  sig- 


nifies that  the  time  to  prepare  the  trousseau  has  come. 


The  vinaigrettes  and  antique  perfumery  bottles  exhibited  are 


remarkable  for  the  number  and  variety  of  their  designs. 


The  fichus  in  silk  embroidery  of  H.  R.  H.  the  princess  royal 
form  the  beautiful  head-dress  and  mantle  of  the  costume  worn  by 
the  peasants  on  the  Island  of  L'Amerger. 

A  crowning  interest  in  the  exhibit  is  found  in  the  painting  of 
roses  and  lilies  by  Her  Majesty  Queen  Louise;  artistic  embroidery 
and  illuminated  parchment  by  the  princess  royal  of  Denmark; 
three  water-colors  by  Her  Royal  Highness  Princess  Woldersov,  and 
the  exquisite  ebony  frame  designed  and  executed  by  Miss  Hawkins 

in  the  highest  style  of  workmanship. 

MME.  D'OxHOLM. 


GREECE. 

SCARCELY  sixty  years  have  passed  since  Greece  regained  her 
liberty.  During  the  servile  period  of  her  history  the  status 
of  women  was  alike  precarious  and  miserable.  Man  was 
indeed  a  slave;  but  woman  was  the  slave  of  a  slave.  So  ancient 
tradition  decreed,  which  even  to-day  underlies  the  manners  of  the 
Greeks,  strengthened  by  Mussulman  influences  which  have  left 
their  impress  upon  the  subjugated  generations. 

Even  now,  in  the  country  and  the  smaller  provincial  towns, 
woman  is  regarded  as  an  inferior  being.  In  the  enumeration  of  his 
children,  the  father  ignores  the  females.  Women  are  not  privi- 
leged to  sit  at  meat  with  guests;  while  in  the  rural  districts  they 
are  subjected  to  the  severest  labors,  cultivating  the  soil  and  bowing 
beneath  the  weight  of  grievous  burdens  of  wood  and  water,  brought 
from  a  distance.  In  the  villages  they  remain  in-doors,  and  are 
seldom  seen  abroad.  In  the  evening  they  sit  upon  their  balconies, 
and  on  Sunday  they  offer  their  prayers  within  the  space  reserved 
for  them  in  the  sanctuary.  An  active  participation  in  affairs  is  the 
prerogative  of  men  only,  who  read  the  papers,  learn  the  condition 
of  the  markets,  and  make  all  the  purchases  for  the  household. 

This  rigor  is  somewhat  relaxed  in  the  larger  cities,  where 
greater  liberty  and  consideration  are  accorded  to  women.  Yet 
even  here  their  tasks  are  limited  to  the  education  of  children  and 
the  management  of  domestic  affairs.  They  have  no  special  occu- 
pation, no  industry  to  follow,  unless  it  be  that  of  a  servant  or  gov- 
erness, or  perhaps  occasionally  the  trade  of  a  seamstress  or  modiste, 
or  an  operative  in  one  of  the  few  cotton  or  silk  factories. 

This  degraded  condition  of  Greek  women  is  readily  understood, 
since  Greece,  during  the  centuries  preceding  her  proclamation  of 
independence,  subject  to  Turkish  rule,  and,  as  it  were,  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  failed  to  participate  in  the  great  move- 
ment of  the  Renaissance  which  awakened  the  civilization  of  Europe. 
Roused  by  her  heroic  struggle  for  liberty,  she  at  last  recovered 
the  position  lost  in  submission  to  the  yoke  of  foreign  invasion; 
yet  rising  from  the  ruins  of  her  glory,  it  was  necessary,  before 

(309) 


310  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

turning  attention  to  the  social  state  of  her  women,  to  cultivate  the 
wasted  soil,  rebuild  her  cities  and  towns,  and  perfect  the  govern- 
ment. To  these  ends  have  the  Greek  government  and  citizens 
labored  incessantly,  even  to  this  day. 


EMBROIDERED   SILK   CUSHION. 
DESIGNED  BY  AGNES  BRANTING;  EXHIBITED  BY  "THE  FRIENDS  OF  HANDIWORK."    SWEDEN. 

Meanwhile,  private  enterprise  has  sought  to  ameliorate  the  con- 
dition of  women.  A  wealthy  patriot,  Arsarkis,  at  his  own  expense, 
erected  a  women's  college  in  Athens.  Unfortunately  the  "  Arsar- 
kion,"  as  it  was  called  in  honor  of  its  founder,  is  not  a  free  institu- 
tion ;  and  the  same  obstacle  to  general  education  attends  the 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING.  311 

establishment  of  three  private  schools  in  Athens,  which,  together 
with  four  or  five  others  in  the  entire  kingdom  and  the  "Arsarkion," 
are  the  only  means  afforded  to  young  women  of  receiving  any- 
thing more  than  a  primary  education. 

Under  such  conditions  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  art  among 
women  is  but  little  developed  in  Greece,  being  apparent  only  in 
weaving  and  embroidery.  From  earliest  times  the  Greek  women 
have  spun  wool,  flax,  and  silk — as  in  the  Homeric  portraiture  of 
Penelope — yet  this  industry  remained  comparatively  uncultivated 
until  the  "  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Women,"  under  the 
patronage  of  Her  Majesty  Queen  Olga,  with  Madame  Skouses  as 
president,  established  an  industrial  school  for  poor  women. 

This  school,  where  450  wTomen  and  girls  are  employed,  has 
become  a  source  of  supply,  providing  not  only  the  most  beautiful 
models  and  patterns  of  weaving  and  embroidery  executed  in  the 
style  native  to  the  country,  but  the  most  exquisite  needlework  in 
European  fashion. 

Moreover,  the  institution  is  a  philanthropic  one,  furnishing 
work  for  450  needy  women,  giving  them  elementary  instruction 
and  providing  dinners  at  a  cost  of  from  two  to  four  cents.  All  labor 
is  piece-work,  at  prices  determined  by  the  superintendent  of  the 
society,  and  all  the  articles  sent  to  the  Exposition  are  the  produc' 
of  the  above  institution  in  Athens. 

In  the  Hellenic  provinces  women  execute  similar  work.  At  Trip- 
oli and  Leonidi,  in  the  Peloponnesus,  and  at  Arachona  and  Atlanta, 
in  Locris,  carpets  are  woven;  at  Kalamata,  in  Messenia,  and  at  Aghia 
and  Ambelakia,  in  Thessaly,  silk-stuffs  are  made;  at  Tripoli,  Argos, 
Missolonghi,  and  Levadia  cotton  goods  are  manufactured;  and  at 
Tyrnavo,  in  Thessaly,  printed  cottons  are  prepared.  Besides  these 
manufactures,  like  fabrics  are  made  in  almost  every  home,  and  in 
a  large  proportion  of  houses  we  find  a  loom. 

It  is  in  the  execution  of  these  textile  articles  that  the  taste  of 
the  Greek  women  is  displayed.  Their  work  possesses,  moreover, 
a  quality  of  original  design  and  of  simplicity,  without  sacrifice  of 
delicate  detail,  which  augurs  favorably  for  the  future  development 
of  women's  industries  in  Greece. 

MADAME  QUELLENEC. 


OIL  PAINTING  — "AUTUMN  EVENING."    E.  BEERNART.    BELGIUM. 


BELGIUM. 

'"T^HE  exhibit  made  by  Belgium  in  the  Woman's  Building 
was  collected  by  a  committee  under  the  patronage  of  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians.  The  honorary  presi- 
dent, the  Countess  of  Flanders,  is  well  known  not  only  as  a  patron 
of  the  arts  and  industries  of  women,  but  as  a  painter  herself.  The 
president,  Mme.  de  Denterghen,  is  maid  of  honor  to  the  Queen; 
the  other  officers  and  members  of  the  committee  are  all  women 
whose  high  positions  have  enabled  them  to  gather  together  the 
very  valuable  collection  which  is  installed  in  that  section  of  the 
Woman's  Building  devoted  to  Belgium.  The  arrangement  of  the 
space  is  very  charming.  Passing  under  some  finely  wrought  hang- 
ings, the  work  and  gift  of  Belgian  working-women,  the  visitor 
finds  himself  in  a  salon,  hung  with  good  pictures,  and  filled  with 
cases  containing  fine  examples  of  china-painting,  fan-painting  and 
mounting,  miniatures,  embroideries,  and  laces.  The  best  known 
of  the  contemporaneous  women  painters,  Mme.  Ronner,  is  repre- 
sented by  one  of  her  inimitable  paintings  of  a  group  of  cats,  which 
hangs  in  the  Hall  of  Honor.  Other  people  have  painted  cats,  but 
Mme.  Ronner  stands  to-day  as  the  most  famous  cat  painter  in  the 
world.  She  has  studied  the  habits  and  character  of  her  favorite 
animal,  and  understands  cat  and  kitten  nature  thoroughly.  The 
standard  of  excellence  of  the  painters  represented  is  very  high; 
out  of  the  twenty  artists  who  exhibit  their  work  in  the  Woman's 
Building,  eleven  have  taken  honors  at  other  important  exhibitions. 
A  group  of  etchings  by  the  Countess  of  Flanders  has  received 
much  well-merited  praise,  while  the  single  small  piece  of  sculpture, 
a  plow-horse,  by  the  Comtesse  d'Espiennes,  makes  the  visitor  wish 
to  see  more  of  her  strong,  sympathetic  work.  Some  excellent 
examples  of  china-painting  are  exhibited  by  the  School  of  the  Rue 
de  Marais  at  Brussels.  The  ecclesiastic  embroideries  of  Mile. 
Dennis  are  worthy  of  attention,  and  the  white  embroideries  of 
Mme.  de  Kerchove  de  Naeyer  are  masterpieces  of  delicate 
stitchery. 

(313) 


IN  THE  WOMAN'S  BUILDING. 


315 


The  most  important  industry  of  the  Belgian  women  is  the  lace- 
making,  in  which  for  so  many  years  they  have  excelled.  A  good 
opportunity  is  offered  to  the  connoisseur  for  the  study  of  many 
rare  and  interesting  examples  of  the  rich  laces  for  which  Brussels, 
Ghent,  Bruges,  and  so  many  other  Flemish  towns  have  long  been 
famous.  A  dress  of  point  d'Angleterre,  lent  by  the  Queen,  is  a 
triumph  of  the  lace-maker's  art.  The  coats  of  arms  of  the  different 
Belgian  provinces  are  wrought  in  the  border.  A  veil  of  the  Vir- 
gin, made  in  the  last  century,  and  lent  by  the  Church  of  Saint 
Nicholas,  has  a  very  quaint  and  lovely  Flemish  design.  Very 
remarkable  pieces  of 
the  different  styles  of 
point  lace  of  Malines, 
Valenciennes,  Binche, 
Guipure,  etc.,  may  be 
studied  here. 

The  great  revival  of 
lace-making  all  over 
Europe  is  very  clear- 
ly illustrated  at  the 
World's  Fair.  We  learn 
from  the  exhibits  at  the 
Woman's  Building  that 
in  Ireland,  Italy,  France, 
and  Russia  a  large 
amount  of  fine  lace  is 
being  made.  In  Bel- 
gium the  art, while  it  has  PART  OF  LACE  DRESS.  EX-EMPRESS  FREDERICK. 
never  languished  as  in 

these  other  countries,  has  felt  the  same  quickening  impulse  which 
in  at  least  two  countries  of  Europe  has  revived  a  practically  extinct 
industry.  The  imitation  or  machine-made  laces,  which  for  some 
time  threatened  the  existence  of  the  real  lace  industries,  have  now 
been  relegated  to  their  proper  sphere,  and  no  more  take  the  place  of 
the  real  laces  than  the  paste-jewel  takes  the  place  of  the  diamond. 

Belgium  is  finely  represented  in  the  library,  and  not  only  by  her 
large  and  interesting  collection  of  books,  but  by  the  reports  and 
statistics,  which  have  been  compiled  with  great  care,  and  which  to 
the  student  of  sociology  reveal  much  that  throws  light  upon  the 
condition  of  the  people. 

THE  EDITOR. 


CLOAK    OF    THE    VIRGIN.      BRUSSELS,    XVIII    CENTURY. 
PROPERTY  OF  TREASURY  OF  ST.   NICHOLAS  CHURCH.    BELGIUM. 


EPILOGUE. 


4^  VT  THAT  shall  the  harvest  be?  "  This  question  must  have 
Y  V  occurred,  sooner  or  later,  to  each  of  the  many  women 
who  have  given  their  time,  their  thought,  their  work, 
to  the  rearing  of  our  woman's  temple.  The  Algerian  maiden, 
whose  white  banner  was  laid  upon  the  desk  on  the  opening  day, 
is  one  of  the  myriads 
of  women  whose 
thought  and  sympathy 
have  traveled  to  us 
along  the  slender,  im- 
perishable line  of  the 
thought  railway.  Our 
building  is  like  the  ter- 
minal station  of  a  vast 
city,  where  the  iron 
rails  come  together 
from  the  north,  south, 
east,  and  west.  The 
freight  that  our  rail- 
way has  brought  is 
very  precious,  and  it  is 
because  we  recognize 
the  value  of  what  has 
"been  sent  to  us  that 
the  idea  has  arisen 
and  gradually  taken 
form  of  a  granary  in 
-which  to  store  the 
jgolden  fruit,  the  har- 
vest of  the  careful  sow- 
ing and  glad  reaping. 

The  real  result  of  the  great  labor  can  not  be  written  in  words 
or  computed  in  figures.  Thought  outweighs  brute  force,  wealth, 
art  itself;  and  we  are  to-day  governed  by  the  thoughts  of  individ- 

(  317 ) 


FIRE    SCREEN. 
DESIGNED  BY  MARIANNE  FURST,  TEACHER  IN  THE  VIENNA 

SCHOOL  OF  ART  EMBROIDERY. 
MADE  BY  HERMINE  WALTE.    AUSTRIA. 


SCREEN. 
PAINTED  AND  EXHIBITED   BY  H.  I.  H.  THE  ARCHDUCHESS  MARIE  THERESE.    AUSTRIA. 


IN   THE   WOMAN  S   BUILDING. 


819 


uals  among  peoples  whose  glory  has  become  a  fable.  The  real, 
permanent  result  of  what  women  have  done  in  connection  with  the 
World's  Fair  lies  in  the  inscrutable  future.  It  forms  a  tiny  link  in 
the  great  chain  of  human  progress.  Human  nature,  however,  is  a 
curious  combination  of  the  finite  and  infinite,  and  while  we  are 
satisfied  to  believe  that  the  record  of  our  work  will  be  found  writ- 
ten upon  the  page  of  to-morrow,  we  have  a  desire  for  something 
which  we  call  real  and  permanent,  but  which  is  in  fact  perishable 
and  evanescent.  We  are  • 
not  content  to  have  . 
planted  a  seed  which 
shall  grow  to  a  tree, 
putting  forth  many  blos- 
soms. We  want  to  see  at 
least  one  little  sprig 
bloom  and  bear.  We 
women  are  thrifty,  prac- 
tical beings,  and  it  is 
probable  that  every  one 
of  us  who  has  labored,  in 
a  little  or  large  degree, 
for  our  building,  desires 
that  the  memory  of  her 
labor  shall  be  perpetu- 
ated in  those  perishable 
materials,  brick  and  mor- 
tar, marble  and  iron. 

The  Kensington  Mu- 
seum is  one  of  the  out- 
grow ths  of  the  first 
exposition,  held  in  Lon- 
don in  the  year  1857. 
This  institution  is  the 
finest  museum  of  indus-  LIMOGES  UNDERGLAZE  JAR. 

trial  art  in  the  world.     It 

has  had  much  to  do  with  the  improved  standard  of  taste 
vhich  has  been  so  noticeable  in  England  during  the  last  half 
f  the  century.  The  artist  and  artisan  study  here  the  best 
jxamples  in  wood-carving,  pottery,  embroidery,  metal-work, 
etc.  Designing  has  been  dignified  into  an  art,  where  it  was 
formerly  a  trade. 

There   is   a  wide-spread   feeling  that  the   nucleus  of  such  a 


320  ART   AND    HANDICRAFT 

museum  now  exists  in  the  Woman's  Building,  and  a  growing 
desire  that  out  of  it  may  grow  a  permanent  building  which  may 
-serve  the  men  and  women  of  our  country  as  the  Kensington 
Museum  serves  the  English. 

It  is  still  too  early  to  speak  definitely  of  this  idea  which  is 
shaping  itself  in  the  public  mind,  but  there  are  many  who  believe 
that  the  Woman's  Building  is  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  and 
splendid  edifice;  if  it  has  been  laid  true,  and  firm,  and  square,  the 
hundreds  of  women  who  have  labored  for  it  will  feel  that  their 
-efforts  are  well  repaid. 

In  the  Government  Building  one  of  the  most  valuable  exhibits 
is  a  collection  of  coins  of  all  nations  and  ages.  It  contains  beauti- 
ful Greek  and  Roman  coins,  and  picturesque  oriental  pieces  of 
money;  but  in  all  the  rich  display  there  is  not  one  bit  of  gold  or 
silver  that  interests  us  as  profoundly  as  the  tiny  bit  of  metal  known 
as  the  "  Widow's  Mite."  If  every  woman  who  has  learned  some- 
thing or  enjoyed  somewhat  through  the  means  of  the  building 
will  contribute  her  mite,  the  thank-offering  will  raise  and  equip 
the  permanent  building  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  cause  to  which 
it  will  be  devoted. 

THE  EDITOR. 

The  limits  of  this  volume  have  made  it  impossible  to  mention  anything  outside 
of  the  Woman's  Building,  and,  owing  to  unavoidable  delays,  much  that  is  valuable 
.and  interesting  in  the  building  itself  was  made  ready  at  too  late  a  day  to  receive 
mention  here;  thus  New  York's  fine  "Loan  Collection"  in  the  Woman's  Building, 
while  arranged  at  an  early  day,  was  classified  at  too  late  a  day  to  receive  the  mention 
it  deserves  in  our  book. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  colonial  loan  collections  of  the  thirteen  original  States, 
made  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers,  in  the  rotunda  of  the 
•Government  Building.  These  contain  articles  of  priceless  value  and  interest. 

In  the  northeast  corner  of  the  gallery  in  the  Liberal  Arts  Building  a  space  is 
•devoted  to  woman's  work.  Here  may  be  seen  a  stained  glass  memorial  window  by 
Mary  Tillinghast,  very  beautiful  in  color  and  tender  in  sentiment.  Miss  C.  E.  Scott 
•exhibits  a  collection  of  china  and  embroidery  which  should  be  visited  by  all  persons 
who  are  interested  in  these  branches  of  decorative  art.  Annie  Leota  Way  exhibits 
some  clever  designs,  and  a  well-constructed  relief  map  of  Palestine,  and  Ella  Cogswell 
Ripley  shows  some  excellent  designs  for  wall  papers.  These  are  but  a  few  of  the  inter- 
esting features  of  this  department.  This  section  of  the  Liberal  Arts  Building  is 
winder  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Rosine  Ryan. — ED. 


